


The Adventures of Phoebe Stackhouse

by AlViWalker



Category: True Blood (TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dark, F/M, Pam Swynford De Beaufort - Freeform, Smut, Vampires, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:21:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28637688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlViWalker/pseuds/AlViWalker
Summary: We all know the story of Sookie Stackhouse. But what if Sookie was actually a darker version of herself? A version that craved the blood and violence depicted in the show instead of shying away from it? This is the story of Phoebe Stackhouse.
Relationships: Bill Compton/Original Female Character(s), Eric Northman/Original Female Character(s), Godric (True Blood)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

It was another usual night at Merlotte's as the dark-haired waitress wove her way around the tables to get a pitcher of beer to three customers who were already waiting.

Trying to ignore their thoughts, she put on a bright smile and set the pitcher down, with a cheerful 'here you go boys' but the smile fell from her face when one of them thought it would be a good idea to slap her on the ass when she turned to leave.

Faster than the culprit expected she whirled around and before he knew it he found his face pressed against the table, his arm painfully twisted back as he screamed out in pain.

“If you ever put your filthy hands on me again you piece of trash, I will break them, are we clear?” the waitress hissed at him and when he didn't immediately answer her, she twisted his arm a bit more, making him cry out before he stammered out a reply.

“Yes, alright, I'm sorry!” Letting go of him, she straightened her clothes before smiling brightly again.

“If you need anything else just holler,” she chirped out before she strode away, a small skip in her step that made her long ponytail bounce.

“You is once crazy bitch,” Lafayette chuckled out when she reached the kitchen to pick up the next order and she rolled her eyes at him, before she gave him a toothy grin.

“He totally started it,” she called over her shoulder and she heard her friend laugh, calling her crazy again under his breath.

Smirking to herself she delivered the tray of burgers and fries to a family of three, wholeheartedly agreeing with the bored looking teenage boy when she inadvertently caught on to his thoughts of wanting to leave this town as soon as he could.

“See that you do, this places swallows you whole the longer you stay here. Believe me, I should know,” she said out loud to him and immediately realized her mistake, so she gave him and his parents an awkward smile, muttering something about ketchup before she fled the scene.

“Sea-biscuits,” she muttered under her breath as she passed Sam and he looked after her with a frown, before he followed her into his office.

“Phoebe, everything alright?” Spinning around, she put a hand over her heart, letting out a short laugh as she shook her head.

“You scared the crap outta me, Sam! Don't sneak up on a girl like that,” she scolded him with a smirk, but he just raised his brows at her as he put his hands on his hips, clearly seeing right through her attempt at diversion.

Slumping her shoulder the smile dropped from her face and she let out a sigh, rubbing her hands over her face tiredly.

“It's nothing, just spoke out loud to someones thoughts and you know how weird people get when that happens. Just needed a moment to quiet everything down again,” she admitted and Sam's posture relaxed as he started to step closer to her before he thought better of it and remained where he was.

“I saw you made some new friends,” Sam tried to joke in an attempt to lighten the mood and Phoebe let out a small chuckle, appreciating the gesture.

“Yeah, you know me, nobody can resist my special charm,” she replied and Sam smirked slightly as he shook his head.

“You may be right about that one. Now get back to work troublemaker before I have to fire you,” he staid mock sternly and she let out a snort as she strode past him and out of his office.

“As if you would ever do that, Sam Merlotte,” she called sassily over her shoulder and winked at Arlene who was raising her brows at the dark-haired girl, a smirk on her lips.

“Threatened to fire you again, did he?” The redhead rolled her eyes as Phoebe simply nodded, letting out a scoff because everyone knew that Sam Merlotte was helplessly in love with the dark-haired beauty and would never do such a thing.

But at this point it was a running joke between the two, Phoebe would cause some kind of trouble because of her temper and Sam would make a joke about firing her. It was almost tradition by now.

Going back to work, Phoebe was just on her way back to the kitchen, when the phone behind the bar rang and soon Sam called her over. Smiling apologetically at him, she mouthed a sorry, to which he rolled his eyes and she turned away, trying to hide her smirk.

“So, you got fired or did you quit this time?” she said as way of greeting because there was only one person who would call her at work and just as she had expected, she heard her best friend snort.

“I quit. Can't work for assholes, they piss me off. I'm comin' over now, I need a Margarita. A big one,” Tara huffed out and Phoebe let out a laugh.

“You got it girl. See ya soon.” Handing the phone back to Sam, she was about to go back to work when Dawn approached her, informing her that the Rattray's had just sat down in Phoebe's section.

Whirling around she frowned when she saw them sitting there like they owned the place and she grimaced as she turned back to Dawn again.

“Thanks for the warning, hun,” she sighed out and the other dark-haired waitress nodded, sympathetically squeezing her shoulder before she hurried off.

“Just don't punch her in the face again, alright? One incident per day is more than enough,” Sam warned her before Phoebe could walk away and she looked at him before shrugging her shoulders, giving him a grim smile.

“I can't promise anythin'.” With that she strode off and put on her work-smile instead, clicking her pen as she came to a stop at their table, her notepad poised in her hand.

“What can I get you guys?” she asked as cheerfully as possible and tried to ignore the disgusting thoughts Mack was thinking about her.

He ordered a pitcher of bud whilst his wife wanted onion rings with mustard and Phoebe had a hard time not jumping at Denise over the table for the things she was thinking about her. She even heard that bitch whisper that she thought Phoebe was retarded and she had to stop herself from going back and punch that stupid face of hers. Again.

“I need onion rings, preferably with a light dusting of rat poison.” Lafayette chuckled at her, pointing her way with his spatula as he shook his head.

“We ain't goin' to start poisoning the customers, hooker. But don't mind me if some of them rings land on the floor,” he snarkily replied and Phoebe nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders, grinning at him.

“Knock yourself out, sugar. You won't her me complainin' bout it.” Giving him a flirtatious wink, she strode off whilst swaying her hips and heard him whistle after her just as Arlene started to come up to the counter and the both of them started bantering.

Thankfully the Rattray's didn't bother her again after she had delivered their order and she could continue to work undisturbed, at least until Tara appeared. Her friend sat down at the bar and Phoebe hurried with her next orders to go over to her, just when Tara had gotten her margarita, staring glumly into it.

“Don't you go feelin' sorry for yourself, Tara Mae. If you would just manage to keep your mouth shut, maybe you would be able to keep a job,” Phoebe said sternly, with her hands on her hips and Tara looked over at her, raising her brows.

“Bitch, who asked you?!” she asked incredulously before she winked and Phoebe smirked at her before Sam walked up to them, eyeing them both before he addressed Phoebe.

“Rattray's gave you any trouble?” he asked worriedly and she shook her head giving him a small smile.

“Not yet, but the night is still young,” she winked at him, but his attention was on something behind her and as she turned to look, she noticed a dark-haired man in a beige jacket sit down in the booth next to the Rattray's.

His eyes found hers and she couldn't seem to look away, starting to feel a bit lightheaded when it suddenly hit her and she twirled around, whispering excitedly.

“I think we just got our first vampire!” Not waiting for a reaction, she speedily walked over to him, trying to dim her excitement a bit as to not scare him off, though her smile was still bright.

“Good evening sir, what can I get for you?” He looked up at her, his arms up on the table with his hands clasped in front of him, looking quite serious.

“Do you have Tru Blood?” His voice was smooth like honey, the southern drawl in it making him sound like a true gentleman to her.

“Sorry no, we don't have any at the moment. You're the first vampire to come here, so we're not really prepared,” she informed him apologetically, noting from the corner of her eyes how Mack had peeked up at the word vampire.

“Am I that obvious?” the vampire asked and Phoebe's smile widened.

“You did just try to order synthetic blood so it was kinda obvious, yes.” He smirked at that and chuckled, before he nodded over to the bar and at Sam who was staring at them with a frown on his face.

“He seems to know even without that information.” Turning back to look at him after shooting a glance in Sam's direction, she shrugged her shoulders, bright smile still in place.

“Don't mind him, he gets a little overprotective sometimes. Can I get you something else instead of Tru Blood?” Regarding her for a moment, he nodded.

“You can get me a glass of red wine, so I have a reason the be here.” Phoebe scrunched up her nose, letting out a giggle, “red wine for the vampire, got it,” she couldn't help but tease.

“Don't mind Phoebe none, mister. She's crazy as a bedbug,” Mack suddenly chimed in, leaning up against the headrest of the booth and Phoebe glared at him.

“Shut your lyin' mouth Rattray, or I'll do it for you,” she hissed out between clenched teeth, before she shot a smile at the vampire who was regarding her with thinly veiled surprise.

“I'll go and get your wine.” Striding back to the bar, she ordered said wine and ignored the looks Sam was throwing her as she stood next to Tara, waiting for her order.

“I swear, one of those days I'm gonna kick his scraggly little ass so hard he'll never come here again,” Phoebe groaned out and Tara comfortingly rubbed her shoulder as the dark-haired waitress let her head slump against the bar.

“Phoebs, you broke Denise's nose twice now and they're still comin' here. I don't think your goin' to get rid of them rednecks.” Letting out another groan, Phoebe lifted her head and glared at her best friend.

“You suck at comfortin', you know that?” Tara just smirked at her, shrugging her shoulders nonplussed as she sipped on her drink and Phoebe rolled her eyes in fond exasperation.

Sam pushed over a glass of red wine and picking it up, she carried it over to the vampire, trying to keep the scowl from her face when she saw Denise all over him, Mack sitting across from them now. She wordlessly put the glass on the table, shooting a small smile at the vampire before she hurried off, not wanting to get into an altercation with the Rattray's again.

Leaning against the bar next to Tara, she nodded over to them, grimacing at how Denise kept acting so familiar with the vampire.

“Fifty bucks that she wants him to bite her and Mack wants to watch,” Phoebe said disgusted and Tara turned to smirk at her, raising both her hands in surrender.

“Don't go betting money with me, you know I ain't got a job.” The dark-haired girl snorted before she shook her head, nudging Tara with her elbows.

“I'm gonna go over and check up on him, nobody deserves to be subjected to that trash, not even a vampire,” Phoebe said and Tara raised a brow at her skeptically.

“Uh-huh, and it has nothin' to do with your own fascination for vampires, right? You should be careful, Phoebs.” Phoebe scoffed and rolled her blues eyes, waving off her friends statement.

“I mean I admit I'm thrilled to have finally met a vampire, but I'm not so stupid that I don't realize they're dangerous. I'll be fine, stop being a worrywart.” Shooting her friend a pointed look, she walked up to the trio and placed herself in front of their table, a smile on her face.

“Can I get y'all anything else?” she asked chirpily, her smile faltering momentarily when she caught Denise thoughts and she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“How about I bring y'all another round of beer on the house!” she exclaimed and directly looked at the vampire, “Don't you go anywhere!”, before she sped off and into the back towards Sam's office.

She kept her baseball bat there, hidden behind a few empty boxes and if Sam knew about this he would probably rip her a new one. Taking it out of it's hiding place she stormed back to the front only to see the booth now empty, no sign of either the Rattray's nor the vampire. She muttered out an expletive before she hurried outside, ignoring Sam calling after her as she looked around the dark parking lot, closing her eyes to try and hear where they had gone.

After a few seconds she could detect Denise marveling at the thickness of the vampires blood and she gripped her bat tighter and sprinted in the direction the thoughts were coming from. Coming up behind a tree, she grimaced at the scene in front of her, Denise was kneeling next to the vampire who was lying on his back on the ground, a needle and cannula in his arm as well as two bags already filled with his blood next to him.

He looked over at her, her gaze flickering to his exposed fangs for a second, and she put her fingers to her lips, before she silently stalked over, using the fact that the Rattray's were bickering amongst themselves as a distraction.

Swinging wide, she knocked Mack over the head with her bat and he slumped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, groaning in pain as Denise scrambled to pack the blood away.

Quicker than she thought he could move, Mack was back on his feet, a knife suddenly in his hand and he lunged at her, nearly slicing open her stomach.

Grabbing his wrist, Phoebe twisted it, making him let go of the knife, before she quickly punched him in the throat, jumping away from him as he fell to his knees, which made Denise spring up and run over to them. They both went for the knife, but Phoebe was quicker, holding it out in front of her, sneering at Denise.

“Take your piece of shit husband and get the fuck out of here before I carve you both up like a damn Christmas turkey. And don't even dare to take that blood with you.”

Denise seemed to be torn between listening to Phoebe's warning or stay and keep up the fight, but Mack wheezing on the ground seemed to sway her decision to the former, past experience telling her that Phoebe wasn't known for making empty threats.

Picking up her husband, she shot a glare at the dark-haired girl, hissing ,”This isn't over you bitch,” at her before she took off with Mack.

Looking after them until they disappeared, she pocketed the knife and walked over to the vampire, crouching down next to him. Without hesitation, she removed the silver chain from him, grimacing at the pieces of his skin clinging to it and she watched in amazement as his wounds healed almost instantly.

“Incredible,” she whispered out, almost reaching out a hand to touch his now healed skin, when she heard tires screeching and she grabbed the vampire under the arms as she pulled him off the road, hearing Denise scream at her from inside the car, “I'm gonna get you, bitch”, before it sped off.

“You alright? Sorry I couldn't get here faster, but I told you to stay” Phoebe said to the vampire she had leaned against the trunk of a tree but he just stared at her and she furrowed her brows at him, pointing behind her with her thumb.

“You want me to leave?” He shook his head, immediately saying no, “They might come back and I can't fight yet.”

Nodding at that, Phoebe was about to stand up when a border collie suddenly appeared, licking her face and she giggled, the dog then barking a few times at the vampire before he ran off again.

“He's checkin' on you,” the vampire said quietly and she grinned at him, shrugging her shoulders.

“Told you he was a bit overprotective, though he has no idea I know that it's him. Might want to keep that to yourself just like I'm goin' to keep that thing about silver to myself.”

She winked at him before she stood up, reaching for his hand and he flinched away, glaring up at her. Wrinkling her nose at him, she rolled her eyes, taking a few steps back with raised hands.

“I hope you're southern sensibilities haven't been ruffled, being saved by a woman and all,” she scoffed, watching him as he removed the tourniquet from his arm and he mumbled out a quiet thank you.

Phoebe cocked her head to the side, trying to hear his thoughts, but to her surprise, there was nothing and she furrowed her brows at him.

“Why can't I hear you?” she mumbled lost in thought and he looked up at her in confusion, repeating his thank you.

Shaking her head, she crouched down in front of him again, staring deeply into his eyes before a grin broke out across her face and she jumped up again, pointing at him excitedly.

“Not a single thing! This is amazing,” she squealed out and the vampire eyed her warily, probably thinking she had lost her mind, so she sobered up again, clearing her throat.

“Sorry about that. Do you still need me to stay with you? Because I should probably head back to work.” He looked at her contemplatively for a moment before he answered her.

“Aren't you afraid to be out here alone with a hungry vampire?” he asked her with a low growl and she snorted at that.

“Mister, I just ran out here on my own to save you from being drained and nearly got stabbed. Does that sound like I'm smart enough to be afraid? What's your name anyway?” He seemed amused by her response but also a bit confused.

“I'm Bill.” A surprised laugh burst out of her and she clamped a hand over her mouth, a light dust of pink settling over her cheeks.

“Sorry, that was mean. Just didn't expect the first vampire I meet to be named Bill. I'm Phoebe,” she apologetically said and vampire Bill raised his brows at her before he stood up, towering over her.

“What are you?” he asked her suddenly very serious and she frowned up at him confused.

“Not sure what you mean by that but last I checked I was just a waitress.” He didn't seem satisfied by her answer, but she had no idea what he wanted her to say, so she awkwardly cleared her throat and took a step back.

“Well, it was nice meeting you vampire Bill, but I have to go back to work. See ya around.” Without looking back she walked away, feeling him staring holes into her back until she rounded the corner.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam was waiting for her outside, worriedly asking her if she was alright and she inwardly rolled her eyes at him, knowing that he knew full well nothing had happened to her.

“I'm fine, no need to worry. I can take care of myself you know?” she brushed him off irritably and went back inside to finish her shift.

Tara was manning the bar at the moment and waved her off when Phoebe asked her if she wanted her to take her home, so she said goodnight to everyone and left.

She got into her old yellow car and drove home, thinking about her encounter with vampire Bill during the whole ride. It was fascinating that she wasn't able to hear his thoughts and she wondered if he would mind spending some time together, it was a more than welcome reprieve to hear nothing but herself for once. But she didn't want to give him any wrong ideas, attractive though he might was, he wasn't really her type and she didn't want him to think she was interested in him in that way.

Her Gran was still awake when she got into the house and Phoebe walked over to her after hanging up her bag and keys, an excited smile on her face.

“We got our first vampire at Merlotte's tonight if you can believe it. I even saw his fangs, but he didn't bite anyone. And guess what, his name's Bill,” Phoebe giggled and her Gran smiled excitedly, putting her book down.

“Did you like him?” she asked curiously and the dark-haired girl thought about it for a moment.

“He was nice enough I guess.” Gran nodded at that, seemingly exited herself about those news and Phoebe bid her a good night, knowing that the elderly woman just stayed up until she got home.

She dreamed about Bill that night, specifically about him trying to bite her and she was still thinking about it when she woke up. Seeing as it was a perfectly sunny day and she had time before her shift started, she put on a bikini top and shorts, took her portable music player and tucked her sunglasses atop her head before she went downstairs.

Gran was hanging up laundry in the back, so she took a pitcher of lemonade and made herself comfortable in a chair on the front lawn, soaking up the sun as she listened to the radio. Shortly after a black pickup came up the drive way and her brother Jason got out, striding over to her.

“You beat up the Rattray's last night, again?” he called over at her and she propped herself up on her elbows, frowning at him.

“How the hell do you even know about this? And keep your voice down, Gran's in the back” she admonished him and he went on to explain, that Hoyt had been wanting to buy weed from Denise and Mack and saw them driving up, mad as hell. Denise had even wanted Hoyt to drive Mack to the hospital in Monroe if he wanted any weed from her ever again, ranting about how Phoebe attacked Mack unprovoked and Phoebe let out a scoff.

“Did they tell Hoyt that Mack pulled a fuckin' knife on me? Unprovoked my ass.”

Jason locked shocked at that, muttering out a curse, “Motherfucker. I would ask if you want me to beat their asses, but Hoyt said you took care of that. What were you doin' with those two anyway?”

Slipping her sunglasses up her head, Phoebe gave her brother a pointed look, knowing exactly how he would react.

“Those rats were draining a vampire in the parking lot right outside Merlotte's, wanting to sell his blood or some shit. I couldn’t have that.”

Her brother looked worried then, straightening up as he looked down at her disapprovingly.

“Phoebs, you do not want to get mixed up with vampires. Trust me!” he said firmly and Phoebe rolled her eyes at him, waving him off with a scoff.

“Please, I just couldn't let that trash drain the poor guy. He might be already dead, but that ain't his fault after all.”

Jason started turning away, before something seemed to come to him and he turned around, asking her hesitantly how the vampire had looked and she raised her brows at him.

“Dark hair, kind of broody. Why?” Her brother seemed to be relieved by that for some reason and she was tempted to look inside his head, when they got interrupted by Gran who called out to them, happy to see Jason.

Ignoring them Phoebe went back to enjoying the sunlight, hoping that she might even get a bit of a tan this time, not that she really believed in it. She had been living in the south all her life, spent most of her days outside if she could and still was pale like a ghost. At least she didn't get sunburned despite her pale skin, but it was a small consolation because she still stuck out like a sore thumb in between all those tanned people around her.

When it came time for lunch she threw on a shirt and went into the kitchen, squabbling with her brother as usual until Gran came back and told them about Maudette Pickins having been strangled to death last night.

Jason was awfully dismissive about the whole thing, his disdain for woman who associated themselves with vampires pretty clear, even going as far as to put the blame on the only vampire in town.

“Oh please, if he had really done it, she wouldn't have been found first of all and secondly she would've been drained and not strangled,” Phoebe pointed out but Jason wasn't even listening to her, rambling on about fang-bangers going missing all the time and Phoebe rolled her eyes, wondering how he couldn't see the flaws in his own logic.

Of course Gran then wanted to know what a fang-bangers was and Phoebe gave her the watered down version, “A kind of groupie for vampires, they like to get bitten. How do you even know Maudette was a fang-banger?”

Her brother slammed his fist on the table, suddenly agitated as he claimed he didn't know how, he just knew, going on to say that there were even hookers specialized in vampires, having a surprisingly detailed insight into the whole thing.

When his sister and grandmother just stared at him silently, he shrugged, stating he read it in a magazine and Gran wondered out loud how much money one would charge for something like that.

“A thousand bucks,” came Jason's immediate reply and Phoebe wrinkled her nose.

“See, that's just unfair. Here I am busting my ass off for ten bucks an hour plus tips and they just lie there and get a thousand bucks.” Jason looked at her pointedly and she stared at him for a moment in confusion before he sighed.

“They're expected to participate, Phoebs,” he said slowly as if he was explaining this to a child and she rolled her eyes at him.

“No really? Hookers are supposed to participate? I had no idea,” she said in mock shock, putting a hand over her heart as if surprised by this and Jason shook his head at her as he stood up.

“Well... um thanks for lunch, Gran.” Jason started to walk out of the kitchen, but Phoebe ran after him, grabbing his arm as she stared intently at him, trying to find out what he was hiding.

What she found was definitely raising some concerns, but he brushed her off before she could find out what happened, suddenly angry.

“Don't try that with me, I'm your brother goddamn it!” He yelled at her before he stormed off and she frowned after him, wondering what was going on with him.

She went back into the kitchen to help her Gran with the dishes and leftovers, before she went to her room and got ready for work.

After showering and putting on her work clothes, she was just starting to put some lipstick on, when her Gran came into the room, sitting down next to her.

“What's up Gran,” Phoebe greeted her and applied a hint of red to her lips. Her Grandmother let out a small sigh,

“Oh ... I was just wonderin' how old you think the vampire is- the one you met last night.”

Putting her lipstick away, she turned to look at her Gran, wondering for a moment why she would ask her such a thing, before it dawned on her.

“You're wonderin' if he was alive during the war, don't you. I can ask him should I see him again, but I think it might be hard for him to come to a DoGD meeting on Thursdays at noon, should that be what you want.”

Her grandmother blinked at her, before she smiled excitedly, “Oh! We could have a special meeting at night, or he could just come talk to me and I could tape his recollections. I am sure the other members would find it so interesting.”

Phoebe smiled at her Gran's enthusiasm, promising her that she would ask him, should he come back to Merlotte's.

* * *

When she got in to work, Dawn came straight up to her, informing her that Jason had been arrested and Phoebe asked her what in the hell for, when Lafayette came up to her as well, telling her he was sorry about Jason and she threw her hands up in the air.

“How come everyone but me knows? Do you know why they took him in?” They had both no idea, even though Lafayette was there when it happened and apparently Dawn only knew because of Rene and with a huff, Phoebe turned around and left, furious that she was apparently the last one to learn about this.

“What the fuck happened to Jason?” Phoebe asked angrily as she stormed up to Arlene, Rene and Hoyt who were at the pool-table, directing the question at Rene who was reluctant to answer her.

Hoyt told her instead that Andy Bellefleur and Sheriff Dearborne had come to ask Jason a few questions before they took him away, but without cuffing him, which was a relief.

“I can't believe they would even entertain the idea of him having anything to do with Maudette's murder. My brother is too much of a moron to do something like that, everyone knows that,” Phoebe scoffed out and the three in front of her looked unsure over whether to agree with her or not so she rolled her eyes at them and turned around, her eyes falling on Bill who was standing in front of an empty table, staring at her.

Walking over to him, she gave him a small smile, ignoring the nasty thoughts around her as she sat down across from him and without hesitation she took his hand when he offered it to her, everything going quite, making her close her eyes. Her smile widened when she looked at him again and she carefully slipped her hand out of his.

“Your hand is pretty cold,” she pointed out and he seemed taken aback for a moment, before he caught himself again.

“Yes... uh ... I'm afraid I'm not as warm as the men that you must be accustomed to.” Phoebe barked out a short laugh, shaking her head.

“What men? Can I get you anything tonight?” She asked, wanting to change the topic and he shook his head at her, smiling.

“What are you?” It was the same question he had repeated the night before and she once again shrugged her shoulders, before she got up.

“I still have no idea what you want me to say, I'm just a human waitress” she replied and he shook his head again, staring at her intently.

“No ... you're something more'n that. You're something more than human,” he stated like it was a fact she should be aware of and she cocked her head to the side, staring back at him for a moment, before she remembered something.

“Oh, before I forget I have a favor to ask of you for my Gran. Would you mind meeting me out back after my shift? I would say I'm finished at about 1:30.”

He leaned back in his chair, regarding her, “I'd be delighted. After all I'm in your debt. Do you realize that every person in this establishment is staring at us?”

Phoebe looked around, seeing that indeed everyone was doing just that and she rolled her eyes, before she met Bill's gaze again, smirking.

“Of course they are. The town freak sitting with the vampire, one can only imagine the kind of gossip they will come up with. You get used to it.”

Bill got up from his seat, leaning in close to her face as he whispered, “See you at 1:30,” before he left and she stared after him, frowning a bit. She had to nip this in the bud before he got the wrong idea, though she had a feeling he might not take no for an answer.

The people around her weren't very nice in the things they were thinking about her and it got so loud, that she had to squeeze her eyes shut to drown them out again. Someone grabbed her by the arm and pulled her off of the chair and she opened her eyes in surprise, stumbling after Sam who was dragging her into his office.

“Are you stupid or something? First you almost get cut open by Mack last night and now you're setting up a date with that vampire! Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Sam bellowed at her and she crossed her arms in front of her chest, glaring back at him.

“In case you haven't noticed, I can take care of myself. I don't need you to try and play my knight in shining armor. We already had this conversation Sam,” she said as calmly as she could but it only seemed to agitate him more.

“Well, I will not let you put yourself or this bar in danger! I won't!” Uncrossing her arms, she put her hands on her hips and cocked her brow at him challengingly.

“Oh yeah? Does that mean you're going to fire me?” Angry tears started gathering in her eyes and Sam's face fell as he moved closer to her and tried gathering her in a hug, but she pushed him away.

“Don't touch me!” She almost screamed and he was about to say something, when Tara stormed inside, slamming the door behind her.

“Are you out of your ever-loving mind?! That vampire wants you for dinner,” Tara practically screamed at her and Phoebe felt herself bristle.

“For fucks sake! Would you both stay the hell out of my business! Neither of you has a right to tell me what I can or can't do, I can make my own goddamn decisions, thank you very much,” she hissed out and stormed past them, ignoring their worried thoughts.

The rest of her shift, she pretended not to notice how everyone was staring at her, keeping her usual, cheerful customer-smile in place, but she inwardly sighed in relief when her shift was finally over.

Going out the back to meet up with Bill, she deeply breathed in the crisp night air, turning around when she heard Sam walking up to her but she turned down his offer to wait with her, still angry at him for yelling at her. She wished him a good night, looking after him for a moment as he walked up to his house next to the bar and grill, before she walked off to her car.

Just when she was about to unlock it, she heard a noise coming from further down the parking lot and curiously she walked over but couldn't see anything, when she was suddenly pushed to the ground.

She landed face first in the dirt, but before she could recover, someone started viciously kicking her back and stomach, one kick landing straight in her face and blood gushed from her mouth as she bit her tongue.

Her vision turned fuzzy around the edges, she wasn't even sure if she was screaming or not and the kicks just kept coming, someone even pulling her hair, every bone in her body hurting.

There was a dog barking from the side, Phoebe could faintly make out Mack who was pulling a gun on the dog and she grabbed his leg wanting to keep him from shooting.

To her surprise he suddenly flew off and Denise started screaming at whoever was there to show themselves, though Phoebe had trouble focusing on anything other than the pain in her body.

Suddenly Denise was flying through the air as well and Phoebe blinked when she saw her lifeless body land a few yards away, but she could barely keep her eyes open.

The last thing she saw was the brown and white collie which had come to her rescue, before everything faded to black, shortly coming back to consciousness, staring at Bill who was carrying her off, but before she could even attempt to ask him what was going on, she slipped away again.

When she came back again, she was lying on her back, coughing up blood and she looked at Bill through blurry eyes, telling him that she couldn't feel her legs.

Propping her up against his knees, he bit down on his wrist ordering her to drink before the wound closed itself again, but even in her addled mind, she hesitated. Letting out an agitated growl, he forcefully pressed his bleeding wrist against her mouth and she tried to struggle away from him, but was too weak to do so.

The moment his blood flooded her mouth though, all reservations scattered into the wind, the taste like nothing she had ever tasted before and she grabbed onto his arm, starting to suck at the wound with vigor before she passed out again.


	3. Chapter 3

Someone was licking her forehead when she woke again and she jerked away from Bill, scrambling up and away from him.

“What the fuck dude?!” she yelled incredulously at him, before she realized that she wasn't hurting anymore, quite the opposite actually and she looked down at herself, touching every inch of her body she could reach, before she looked at Bill again.

He obviously didn't expect her to jump him like she did and they tumbled to the ground with her pressed against his chest as she mumbled out a string of thank yous. Bill let out a soft sigh, stroking her head and embarrassed she pulled away again, looking to the side as she blushed. Awkwardly clearing her throat, she looked back at him and saw him watching her intently, which he seemed to do a lot, now that she thought about it.

“Thank you for savin' my life Bill,” she said seriously and he licked his lips, before he asked her again what she was and she decided to tell him, seeing as he had saved her life and all that.

“I'm a telepath, I hear peoples thoughts. But not yours in case you're wondering. It's quite peaceful inside my head when you're around, you have no idea how wonderful that is after hearing what everyone thinks all the time.” She smiled at him and he returned the smile, a look of wonder in his eyes and he reached out to touch the side of her face, but she turned away.

“I'm sorry. I don't want to give the wrong impression, but I'm not interested in you romantically. Though I would like to be your friend if that would be agreeable with you?” Something flashed through his eyes that she couldn't decipher but it was gone so fast that she didn't have time to think too much on it.

“May I ask you a personal question?” he asked her instead of replying to what she had said and she let out a very unladylike snort.

“You just saved my life, I think you have earned the right to ask me anythin' you want.” He smiled at that, before he turned serious again and she hadn't anticipated the question he asked her, actually blushing at it.

“How do you manage a social life with men your own age? Their thought must be...,” he trailed off and Phoebe blushed even harder when she looked away.

“You have no idea. Every date I ever had, which I can count on one hand by the way, ended in absolute disaster. The only people who know what I can do are those closest to me, but it's kind of a taboo topic so we don't really talk about it. I try to stay out of their heads as much as I can, but I can't always control it. Other people suspect that there's something different about me, but most of them just think I'm crazy.” Her voice broke slightly at her explanation, as much as she pretended otherwise, it did hurt her when people thought bad things about her, but she tried not to let it get her down.

“What does it sound like?” Bill asked her curiously and she scrunched up her nose in thought, thinking over how to best explain it.

“It's like a constant stream of chatter that I have to actively try and drown out, sometimes I even get images and it's especially difficult if people are mad or upset, makes it harder to tune out. But I have a question for you too, what does it mean for me now that I had your blood? I'm guessing being miraculously healed isn't all it does?” Looking at her for a moment, she didn't need to be a mind-reader to know that he was hesitant to tell her, but she needed to know, so she pressed on.

“I promise I wont get mad, you saved me after all. I just want to know what I have to expect.” Nodding at that, Bill stood up and brushed off this clothes before he extended his hands towards her and pulled her up as well once she took it, though he didn't let go after she stood on her own two feet.

“Your senses will be heightened, smell, hearing, sight but only temporarily. You will be stronger than before but the effects should wear off after a while. Probably a few weeks after the amount I had to give you.” Phoebe stared at him in awe, before she furrowed her brows because she got the feeling there was something else he wasn't telling her, so she expectantly raised her brows at him.

“You're a very perceptive young woman, aren't you?” Bill smirked at her and she just shrugged her shoulders and kept looking at him.

“Alright then. Since I gave you my blood, I will be able to feel your emotions and come to your aid should you be in danger. Then there are the dreams you're most likely going to get, a side effect of drinking directly from one of my kind.” He didn't say anything more and she noticed that he was still holding her hand, so she gently pulled it out of his grasp, his fingers tightening for a fraction of a second, before he let go.

“Why do I get the feeling that I won't like what happens in those dreams?” She asked him with raised brows as she started walking, intending to go back to her car and he followed her, an almost sheepish smile on his lips, but she could see a much different emotion in his eyes.

“Our blood also increases the libido and you might have a few... explicit dreams of me the next few nights.” Now she understood what she saw in his eyes, it was some form of satisfaction that she was going to dream about him in that way after she told him she wasn't interested. Deciding to drop the subject, she remembered why she had originally wanted to meet up with him.

“How old are you anyway?” She asked and he shot her a look that clearly told her he knew she was trying to change the topic but he let it pass.

“I was made a vampire in 1865, when I was thirty human years old,” he answered her as they walked back to her car and she eyed him contemplatively.

“So, does that mean you fought in the Civil War?” When he nodded at that, she stopped and grabbed a hold of his arm, a big smile on her face and she looked up at him through her lashes, turning on the charm.

“Do you think you could come to my Gran's club and talk about your time as a soldier? That's what I originally wanted to ask you tonight before all that other shit happened. It's called the Descendants of the Glorious Dead and consists mostly of old folks who had family in the war,” she explained and his face fell when he heard about the name.

“There is nothing glorious about dying in a war. Bunch of starvin', freezin' boys, killin' each other so the rich people can stay rich. Madness.” He got really agitated and Phoebe watched him silently, unsure what to say. The silence stretched on for a bit, before he seemed to get himself back together again.

“Would it make you happy if I did this?” She smiled brightly at him, giddy inside because she already knew she had him, no one could resist when she turned on her patented charm.

“It would make my Gran very happy that's for sure. And consequently it would make me happy as well. So, is that a yes then?” she asked him cheekily and the corners of his mouth twitched, before he nodded.

“It is a yes. When may I call upon you?” Furrowing her brows, she giggled at his old-timey way of talking, before she answered him, “I have the day off tomorrow, so you can come right after the sun has gone down if you want?”

“I'll be there then,” he answered and she smiled up at him, before she turned her head, seeing that Sam's lights were still on and she pointed it out to Bill, but when she turned back round, he was already gone.

“That's not creepy at all,” she muttered under her breath before she got into her car and finally drove home, looking forward to get rid of her clothes and take a long, relaxing shower.

Phoebe just hoped that her Gran hadn't waited up for her again, because she would like to keep what happened under wraps for the time being. Luckily for her, the house was dark and quiet when she came back and she silently climbed upstairs and to her room, quickly getting out of her bloodied clothes.

The shower was superb, she had the feeling that she could feel every drop of water as it hit her skin and it was an almost religious experience in her mind. After toweling off and slipping on her pajamas, she looked at her ruined clothes for a moment, before she put them inside a small black plastic bag, undecided what to do with them yet. She slipped into bed, burying herself deep into her blankets and soon drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A tickling between her legs woke her up but as she wanted to absentmindedly swat at whatever was doing it, she couldn't move her arm, making her eyes snap open.

Her hands were tied to her headboard as she craned her head to look up and when she looked down, she saw Bill kneeling between her legs, his head nuzzling the inside of her exposed thigh.

That's when she noticed that they were both naked but for some reason it didn't bother her, she was feeling more excited than anything, letting out a whimper, when he kissed up her body until he reached her face. His lips felt soft against her own and she eagerly let his cold tongue invade her mouth, winding her legs around his hips as she tried to pull him closer to her.

She could feel his hardness brushing against her core and she tightened her legs around him, making him slip inside her a few inches. Throwing her head back, she moaned loudly and he took it as permission to enter her completely, making her eyes roll into the back of her head. She didn't even question why it wasn't hurting like it should, seeing as she was a virgin, but her body felt like it was on fire, making rational thought impossible.

His rhythm was slow and gentle at first until she begged him to fuck her harder to which he obliged with a growl, starting to pound into her, making her scream in pleasure.

Then the scene suddenly changed and she found herself on all fours, her hands no longer bound as Bill kept slamming into her from behind and it was driving her all kinds of wild. Especially when he suddenly grabbed a fistful of her hair, roughly pulling her up to press her back against his body, not once losing his rhythm and the pain felt delicious in comparison to the pleasure.

She moaned even louder when the hand in her hair snaked around her throat, increasing pressure until she was barely able to breathe and she felt his fangs graze her shoulder as he kept fucking her roughly. Just when he reared his head back to sink his teeth into her flesh, Phoebe shot up in bed, sweat glistening all over her body and she panted heavily as she looked around her sunlit room in confusion.

It dawned on her that it had just been a dream, but even still the effect it had on her body was undeniable, her heart was racing a mile a minute and her underwear was decidedly damp.

Flipping back her covers, she shakily got out of bed and stumbled into her bathroom, needing another shower after all of this. She wondered if the specifics of the dream had been her own subconscious or if Bill had something to do with it, because she never imagined herself to like what had happened in her dream. But she couldn't deny how just thinking about it made her all hot and bothered again so she tried pushing it away and got out of the shower.

Her Gran had already made breakfast and as she puttered around the house, Phoebe sat down to eat, halfheartedly listening to the TV where Reverend Newlin was arguing with Nan Flanagan, the spokesperson for the American Vampire League, the AVL.

She scoffed, when the Reverend refused to speak to Nan directly, stating that Jesus was the reason he wouldn't acknowledge the blonde vampire and Phoebe turned off the TV, addressing her grandmother.

“He's so full of shit. Jesus wouldn't mind if someone is a vampire and neither should he.” Her Gran agreed with that sentiment wholeheartedly and Phoebe took a bite of her sausage, closing her eyes as the taste exploded in her mouth. Bill had warned her that her senses would be heightened, but she had no idea what that really meant up until now.

“This sausage is amazing Gran,” she complimented the elderly woman and it earned her a confused smile, her Gran clearly unsure over how to respond to that seeing as it was the same as always.

Before she could ask for clarification though, Tara strode in and her Gran was distracted with greeting her, telling her to sit down when Tara went to pour herself some coffee.

“From the way you look I'm assuming you want to take a shower and borrow some of my clothes?” Phoebe asked her best friend as she sat down next to her and Tara grinned at her, nodding.

“You know me so well. Heard anythin' about Jason?”

Phoebe rolled her eyes, as she nodded, “Yeah, Everly called and let us know they let Jason go last night, no surprise there.” Tara silently agreed with her, before she got an inquisitive look on her face.

“So, glad to see you're still alive. You obviously did not hook up with that vampire last night.”

Phoebe gave her a pointed look and Tara let out a groan, “Seriously? Phoebs, I swear sometimes you're just plain dumb!” Tara exclaimed incredulously.

“Oh shut your pie hole, Tara Mae. Nothin' happened between the two of us, I told him I'm not interested in him that way. And before you even ask, no, he didn't bite me,” Phoebe said pointedly and Tara rolled her eyes.

“You know they can hypnotize people and make them forget right?” Rolling her eyes herself, the dark-haired girl gave her friend an annoyed look.

“I think I would've still noticed bite marks on me if that had happened. Now drop it, I don't wanna talk about it no more.” Tara regarded her for a moment, before she let out a sigh and addressed Gran.

“You must be glad they let Jason go home Miss Stackhouse.”

Gran grimaced slightly, “I can't even believe that they arrested him to begin with. I have a good mind to call Bud Dearborne and chew him out. Jason's a good boy. Everybody knows that.” Phoebe and Tara shared a look, smirking at each other because neither of them would categorize Jason as a good boy and neither would the rest of people in town.

Just then the phone rang and Phoebe's grandmother went into the other room, taking the phone with her, so Phoebe addressed Tara again.

“I'm sorry for screaming at you yesterday by the way. But Sam got me all riled up and then you came onto me too and I turned into bitch-mode.” Tara smirked at her, before she sighed and apologized as well.

“Well, I'm sorry I've been acting like I'm your mother. I just worry about you, Phoebs. You're basically my only friend.” Before she had a chance to react to that, Jason stormed in and asked if he was too late for breakfast, greeting Tara as he walked to the fridge and opened it up, taking out the bowl with the sausages.

“I'm so glad they didn't lock you up,” Tara said with a shy smile and Phoebe inwardly groaned at her friends hopeless crush on her brother.

“Me too. I don't even know why they suspected me. I think somebody heard I'd been with Maudette,” Jason stated nonchalantly and his sister narrowed her eyes at him.

“Had you? I mean she is a woman after all,” Phoebe quipped and her brother glared at her.

“Funny, Phoebs, really funny. At least she was human.” Throwing her hands in the air, she slumped back in her seat, looking up at the ceiling in defeat.

“Why does everyone keep houndin' me about Bill? I neither intend to fuck him nor let him drink my blood, you know?” She glared at her brother who seemed unimpressed by her outburst and she flipped him off just as her Gran came back in the room, but luckily the elderly woman didn't see it.

“You will never believe what happened,” she said before she saw Jason leaning against the fridge, ushering him to a chair with the promise of making him breakfast.

“So, what happened?” Phoebe asked impatiently, already getting a bad feeling about this.

“Apparently, a tornado touched down over at Four Tracks Corners. It turned over that rent trailer in the clearing. You know the one? And it killed that couple that's been staying in there.”

“Mack and Denise Rattray?” Jason interrupted incredulously and Phoebe felt a cold shiver race up her spine as she tried to keep her expression neutral.

“They were trapped under the trailer. Mike Spencer said they were crushed to a pulp,” her Gran finished and soon a discussion broke out about the weirdness of it all, but Phoebe took no part in it, clearly remembering seeing Denise's lifeless body lying on the ground before she herself had lost consciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

After breakfast, Jason helped Gran with cleaning up, while Tara went upstairs to take a shower and Phoebe slipped out of the house without anyone noticing and drove up to Four Tracks Corners to take a look at the trailer herself, fueled by some kind of morbid curiosity.

Not much was left of the trailer as she got there, a few large trees seemed to have fallen on it's roof in several places, making the whole structure collapse.

Slipping under the yellow, police tape, she hesitantly walked closer, the destruction even worse up close and a small smile grazed her lips. It soon fell though, when a beat-up black van pulled up and Sheriff Dearborne as well as the coroner Mike Spencer stepped out and she was frantically trying to come up with an explanation as to why she was here.

“Well, Phoebe Stackhouse,” Mike said as Sheriff Dearborne almost simultaneously asked, “What are you doing here?”, before the Sheriff walked closer and leaned against the barrier, “Phoebe, you know Mike Spencer.” The girl gave Mike a small smile as she nodded at him.

“Course I know him, he buried my parents. You got a new job Mike?” she asked him and he broke out into a grin, turning around to show her the writing on his black vest.

“Parish coroner. But I still run the funeral home.” Phoebe's smile widened at that and she winked at him, “That must be mighty convenient for you. They should've thought of that sooner.” Mike looked a little disconcerted at her statement, but the Sheriff interjected.

“Phoebe, this is still a restricted crime scene. Why are you here?” he asked as he walked past her, his eyes on the trailer instead of her and she adopted an innocent expression when he turned to look at her.

“I just had to see for myself after Gran told me what happened. I mean, they weren't my favorite people in the world, but to die this way... Not even they deserved somethin' as awful as this,” she finished sadly and Dearborne looked at her skeptically.

“My niece is the emergency room nurse in Monroe. Says somebody busted up old Mack pretty bad the other night. And everybody says that 'somebody' was you.” Phoebe's expression hardened and she put a hand on her hip as she cocked her brow at him.

“So? They were killed by a tornado, were they not?” The Sheriff pushed back his shoulders and glared disapprovingly at her, clearly not liking her attitude, not that she cared.

“Tornadoes hop. This one didn't land anywhere else. And nobody around here heard or saw anything like a tornado last night,” Dearborne said almost accusingly and the young woman blinked at him, before she barked out a short, humorless laugh.

“This is about Bill isn't it? You think he did this?” she asked skeptically and the Sheriff frowned at her.

“If you're referring to the vampire living in the old Compton house, then yes.” Phoebe raised her brows at this, she had had no idea Bill was living just across the field from her house and she tucked that piece of information away for later.

“This is ridiculous! He's been here for what? Two or three days tops? And already every last one of you redneck bigots is givin' him a hard time without him even doing anythin'! You should be ashamed of yourselves!” Pretending to be outraged, she stomped off back to her car and quickly got inside before she sped off, starting to giggle after she was sure they couldn't see her anymore.

She couldn't believe that Bill actually killed the Rattray's because of her, or for her if one might be so inclined and to her surprise she found it kind of hot, instantly remembering her dream. Pushing the images away, she tried thinking about something else, trying to distract herself from the sudden attraction to the dark and brooding vampire.

When she arrived back at the house, she saw her Gran vacuuming the rug that laid in front of the couch and Phoebe shook her head at that.

“You want some help with that, Gran?” she called out so she could be heard over the loud humming of the vacuum and her grandmother turned it off, as she smiled over at her.

“No honey, I'm just about finished. What is it?” Her Gran asked her when Phoebe suddenly wrinkled her nose and sniffed the air, looking like she smelt something bad.

“I'm not really sure, but it doesn't smell nice,” the young woman replied before she walked over to the piano and pushed away the chair, seeing a piece of cracker lying on the floor.

She picked it up, sniffing at it curiously, before she hastily pulled it away from her face, almost gagging. Holding the piece up, she showed it to her Gran who looked confused over how she had been able to smell something like that and Phoebe tried to change the subject.

“So, I'm guessing Tara and Jason will be here tonight as well?” Her grandmother looked guilty, but Phoebe waved her off before she could start to apologize.

“It's OK, Gran. I would've invited them myself anyway so they can get to know Bill as well. Maybe they will change their minds about him then.” Phoebe smiled before she pressed a kiss to her grandmother's cheek and skipped off into the kitchen, throwing away the piece of cracker before she washed her hands.

What she hadn't mentioned to her Gran was that she was kind of glad her brother and best friend would be there as well, because every time she thought about Bill, her insides clenched longingly and she wanted them here as a sort of buffer.

* * *

Tara came back a few hours before sundown, sitting on Phoebe's bed as the dark-haired girl rummaged through her closet, trying to decide what to wear tonight.

“For someone who isn't interested, you try awfully hard,” Tara called out to her and Phoebe whirled around, a black dress in her hand as she glared at her friend.

“You know Gran wouldn't be very happy if I turned up in my usual outfits. She wants to impress Bill to get him to agree to speak at her club, so I'm goin' to help with that by looking good,” she replied haughtily and her friend looked more than skeptical at that so she let out a frustrated huff and kept searching through her clothes.

Thankfully Tara didn't comment further on it and Phoebe felt a bit bad for snapping at her like she did, but her statement had hit the nail on the head, not that she was going to admit that. It made her feel defensive for some reason and she kind of dreaded that Bill would be here in a few hours.

She decided not to go overboard as to not give anyone the wrong impression, but she currently wasn't sure herself what her motives actually were.

Picking a cornflower blue summer-dress that perfectly matched her eyes but wasn't too flashy, something she wore on a regular basis, she decided to let her hair flow freely. It fell in glossy, dark waves down to the middle of her back, brushing against her bare arms when she moved.

Slipping into a pair of white sandals, she motioned for Tara to follow her downstairs, only to find the bed empty and her friend gone, which made her wonder when she had left.

She found Tara sitting in the kitchen, in a chair at the table whilst chatting with Gran and Phoebe walked over to the fridge, getting out a beer for herself and Tara. Walking over to her friend she handed the open beer to her and they clinked their bottles before they both sipped at it, watching Phoebe's grandmother bustle about.

Shortly before it got dark, Jason arrived and after getting a beer himself, he immediately started hounding his sister much to her annoyance.

“Do you want a vampire sucking blood out of you?” Springing up from her chair, Phoebe stomped over to him, poking him in the chest with her finger as she glared up at him.

“Listen here Jason Stackhouse. It's none of your goddamn business what I do with my body, or my blood for that matter. I tried telling you, that I have no intention of givin' him my blood or anything else of mine. But even if I were, it would be my fucking decision.” She stormed off then, furious with her brother for being such a conceited asshole and decided to sweep the porch to calm herself down.

Though she mainly just whirled up the dust around her with her angry strokes of the broom and she huffed, leaning it against the railing of the porch as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

The air around her shifted and she looked up, coming face to face with Bill, making her take a startled step back, the images of her dream flashing in front of her eyes and she felt herself blush madly.

“Shit, this is even worse than I thought,” she whispered quietly, but Bill heard her nonetheless and smirked, as he crowded her against the wall.

His hand came up to tuck a strand of her behind her ear before he stroked down the side of her face and she had to fight to not let her eyes flutter shut.

“Who knew what a kinky little thing you are.” His voice was deep and husky and a shiver ran up and down her spine, heat pooling in her belly, her eyes glued to his.

“I sure didn't,” she heard herself say dazedly but then his words registered in her brain and her eyes widened, as she pushed him away.

“Oh my god, you could see it too? This is fucking embarrassing!” she cried out in distress and buried her burning face in her hands as she groaned as if in pain.

“Fucking it was, embarrassing it was not,” came Bill's smooth reply and her head snapped up as she glared at him.

“Stop talking, you're voice is not helping right now. Ugh, I don't even find you that attractive you know? I don't like this whole dark brooding thing you got goin' on,” she whined like a petulant child and Bill smirked at her, his eyes gleaming knowingly.

“Seems to me, you like it just fine,” he drawled out and shooting him another glare, she took a deep breath, before she opened the door to go back inside.

“We should go, the others are surely waiting. Just so you're warned, my brother doesn't like vampires very much, but he is also a moron, so don't take it personally. And Tara is just tryin' to protect me from you, which might be a good thing right about now.” Passing through the door, she turned around and frowned at him when he made no move to follow and she questioningly raised her brow at him.

“You have to invite me in, otherwise it is impossible for me to enter a mortal's home.” Her eyes widened at that, a smirk appearing on her face and she leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Is that so? How interesting. Can I withdraw the invitation or is the access to my home permanent?” Bill didn't seem to like where she was going with this but he nodded at her and her smirk grew. Pushing herself off the door, she gestured for him to enter with a mocking bow.

“In that case, please step inside. For now,” she couldn't help but add, throwing him a wink and she saw his lips twitch as he walked past her, much closer than necessary in her opinion.

Leading him to the living room, her heart sank when she saw Tara and Jason occupying the armchairs which meant that she had to share the love seat with Bill.

She had to try very hard to keep it together if she was forced to stay so close to him and she reluctantly sat down next to him, practically feeling the smug satisfaction radiating off of the vampire.

Her Gran came in, passing sandwiches around, even offering them to Bill who politely declined and Phoebe had to suppress a chuckle when her grandmother seemed embarrassed, apologizing profusely.

Gran sat down on Bill's other side and Phoebe had a hard time keeping up with the conversation fighting against the urge to touch him. He said something about Compton's and Loudermilk's, Gran informing him that Jesse Compton died last year and it turned out that was why Bill was here.

When he mentioned the VRA though, Jason decided to pipe in, “I wouldn't be too sure about that if I were you. A lot of Americans don't think you people deserve special rights.” Before anyone could say anything, Phoebe spoke up, throwing her brother a nasty look.

“Shut your mouth Jason, you have no idea what you're even talkin' about. This is not going to turn into a discussion over whether or not vampires should have the same rights as humans,” she admonished him, but he wasn't going to stop apparently.

“I'm just saying there's a reason things are the way they are.” Bill who had been quietly listening up until now spoke up as well, calling it injustice and Jason got flustered, raising his voice.

“Listen, it's called, 'This is how we do it'.” Phoebe was about to make a scathing remark towards her brothers mental capacity, when her Gran admonished Jason firmly, making the blonde man sink back in his chair with a pout.

Phoebe still glared at him, halfheartedly listening to her Gran and Bill talk about the Stackhouse's and the house they were currently in, before Tara spoke up for the first time.

“Did you own slaves?” Phoebe rolled her eyes at her best friend but Tara just shrugged, keeping her attention on Bill.

“I did not, but my father did. A house slave, a middle-aged woman whose name I cannot recall, and... And a yard slave. A young, strong man named Minus,” he answered her and Tara looked less than impressed by this, especially when Gran suddenly exclaimed that it was just the thing her club would love hearing about and Tara seemed incredulous.

Phoebe snorted, her grandmother's timing was hilarious and Tara shot her a glare which she shrugged off, while her Gran explained to a grumpy looking Tara that they would like to hear everything about that time and that was what she had meant.

A short awkward silence followed, before Bill changed the topic, “I look forward to speaking to your club, Mrs. Stackhouse.” Her Gran smiled brightly at him, clearly over the moon about this and he pushed himself off the love seat as he continued talking.

“Now, if it's all right with you, I thought that Phoebe and I might take a walk. It's such a lovely night.” He leaned over the armrest at her Gran's side, shooting Phoebe a sly smile and she felt goosebumps prickle along her skin.

Her Gran agreed to it, but only if Phoebe did as well and she was undecided as of yet, but then her brother stood up and put both his hands on his hips, “I don't think that's a good idea.”

Standing up as well, Phoebe gave him a scathing look, “Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's any of your darn business where I go and with whom.”

He stared at her incredulously and Gran spoke up agreeing with Phoebe, which only agitated her brother more.

“Look, Gran, I am the man in this family...,” he started to say, but his sister interrupted him with a loud laugh, shaking her head at him.

“You're a man-child if anything, Jason. But even if you weren't, Gran holds more authority in this house than you, not that I need either of yours approval, I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions.” Walking over to Bill, she took his hand and grinned up at him, ignoring her brothers spluttered protests and her Gran's admonishments of his behavior.

“Let's get out of here,” she whispered to him and he nodded a goodbye at her Gran before they left.


	5. Chapter 5

Phoebe let go of his hand once they were outside and she waited until they were out of hearing distance, before she started speaking again.

“I saw what you did to their trailer,” Phoebe said, just thinking about it send her libido into overdrive and before she knew it, she found herself pressed against a tree, out of view from the house.

Bill's body was pressed tightly against hers, his arms caging her in and she looked up at him with wide eyes, unconsciously licking her lips.

“You better stop doing that, my self-control is already hangin' on by a thread at this point,” he growled at her and her thighs clenched together when heat flooded her body from the hunger in his voice.

Nuzzling the side of her face with his nose, he deeply inhaled, letting out an appreciative hum and she had to stop herself from turning her head and pressing her lips against his.

“Most humans wouldn't get turned on by a vampire killing people,” he whispered in her ear and she gasped when he gently nibbled on her earlobe, her hands coming up against his shoulders, if it was to grab onto him or push him away, she wasn't yet sure herself.

“You were the one that said I wasn't human,” she breathlessly pointed out to him, instinctively baring her neck to him when he started peppering kisses on it, her hands curling into his shirt.

When she heard his fangs snick out though, the lusty fog in her mind seemed to clear a bit and she uncurled her fingers and pushed at his chest, shaking her head.

“No, I'm not going to let you bite me,” she said firmly, looking straight into his eyes and he retraced his fangs, before he took a step back from her.

There was a flicker of annoyance in his eyes again and she felt solidified in her resolution not to let him have her blood.

“Before I'm goin' to do anything with you, I want to be sure you're blood is gone from my system. If the attraction is still there, we can see where this goes,” she explained to him and he seemed to think about this for a moment, before he inclined his head in agreement.

“Good. How about we take that walk now?” Putting on a cheerful attitude, she started walking next to him in the direction of his house, making sure to keep enough distance between them.

“Tornadoes hop, by the way. Just for future references,” she suddenly said and Bill let out a chuckle.

“I'll keep that in mind.” Glancing over at him she grinned, “So, you killed a lot of people?”

Her heart skipped a beat when she asked that and by the heated look her threw her, she knew he had heard it, but she pretended like nothing had happened.

“I killed a few by accident at first. I was never sure when I was gonna get my next feed. But it's all different now. There's Tru Blood. I can get donor blood from a clinic in Monroe. Or I can glamor someone into letting me feed on them and then they'll forget all about it.” She stopped then, looking up at him contemplatively before she furrowed her brows.

“Did you try to glamor me?” she asked curiously and something flickered across his eyes for a moment before he shook his head.

“I have not.” Phoebe could tell he was lying, but she decided not to comment on it, getting the feeling it would be in her best interest if she kept the fact that she could even tell to herself.

“Okay. Do you want to try?” He seemed hesitant at first, but she hounded him until he tried, though she couldn't feel anything happening and burst out laughing at his serious expression.

“Yeah, I don't think this is working. Looks like you were right, I'm not really human after all.” She grinned up at him and could tell that he didn't like the fact that he couldn't control her like this but she didn't comment once again.

Something was up with Bill, something that send a shiver down her spine, but not the good kind and she felt glad, that she didn't give in to him earlier. She had the suspicious feeling that her attraction to him would diminish over time as his blood left her system.

“If you were, you are certainly not acting like one when it comes to vampires,” Bill pointed out and Phoebe frowned at him.

“How do you expect me to act? I might not drink peoples blood or anythin', but I do know what it means to be different just like I know how it feels when people are scared of you. My own parents were afraid of me, though they never said so out loud, but of course I knew. They brought me to specialist after specialist tryin' to find a logical explanation until they settled on ADD but thankfully my Mama refused to medicate me. Sometimes I'm glad they died when I was still a kid, not because I hated them or anything, but because it made me sad that they were so afraid of their own daughter.” She stopped talking then, scolding herself for even telling him this, but she blamed his blood for her sudden openness.

“I lost my wife and my children. Everyone I knew from human life. Most of them are buried here in this cemetery,” Bill said after they had continued on in silence for a while, reaching said cemetery.

She looked at him curiously, noting the sadness in his tone and she impulsively grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“That must've been hard. I can't even begin to imagine what that must be like,” Phoebe said softly and Bill gave her a small grateful smile.

They came up to a colonial style house and she let go of his hand to take a closer look, before she turned around.

“I used to sneak up here as a child because I always loved this house. It has this kind of weird, creepy vibe to it, I don't really know how to explain it. But Jesse Compton didn't like me much and would always chase me away,” she giggled out and Bill smiled gently at her.

“You can come around whenever you like, I wouldn't chase you away. Since old Jesse Compton had no living heir, the ownership of the house reverted back to me.” Phoebe frowned at him again, cocking her head to the side.

“Then let's hope the VRA passes so you can actually keep the house,” the dark-haired woman said and Bill nodded.

“Up until now I haven't been getting any trouble with the renovations I've been doing. Although of course I've been doing it myself in the night. I need an electrician, but I can't get anyone to return my calls.”

Phoebe let out a humorless laugh, shaking her head in annoyance, “Of course not. This town is filled with a bunch of righteous bigots in case you haven't noticed. I could make a few calls and see if I can find someone who would be willing to help you. Can't have you sittin' in the dark in your own home, that's just not right.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that,” Bill replied and Phoebe inclined her head, because it wasn't a problem at all.

As much as she tried to be careful around him, emphasis on the word tried, she still wanted to be his friend and friends helped each other out in her opinion.

They stood in front of his house, staring at each other and she felt the now familiar stirrings of arousal start to boil up again and he seemed to notice it too.

“I should see you home.” It sounded more like a reluctant suggestion than a statement, but it was enough for her to shake herself out of it and she let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding.

“That would probably be for the best,” she acquiesced, because she didn't trust herself enough to stay out here with him, all alone, where he could just pin her to the ground and...

Bill let out a growl, making her flinch and she felt her face heat up because she knew that he could tell where her thoughts had been headed.

“Sorry,” she whispered out as she hurried past him and she heard him follow behind her, a part of her wishing she could just give in to what she was feeling, because it was almost physically painful to restrain herself.

Thankfully they reached her house without further incident and with a last smoldering look that made her knees go weak, Bill bid her good night and sped off.

She slumped against the door and closed her eyes for a moment, now that he wasn't in close proximity anymore, her head seemed to clear up fortunately. Staying outside for just a moment longer, she took deep and calming breaths before she went back inside, relieved that her Gran seemed to already be in bed and that Jason and Tara weren't there either.

This had been an interesting night to say the least and she couldn't wait to slip under her covers and go to sleep, so that was what she did. Her last thought before she drifted off was her wondering if she was going to dream about Bill again.

* * *

Walking through the dimly lit corridor, she pushed open the door at the end of it, her mind having difficulties processing what she was seeing. A figure was hunched over another and a floorboard creaked loudly when she stepped closer to get a better view.

The figure's head snapped in her direction and she let out a gasp when her eyes fell on Bill's blood covered face and chest, before her gaze flickered to the person he was holding. It was Denise Rattray, her throat ripped out and her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling whilst blood still poured out of her wound, covering her body and the floor beneath her.

The sight should have been horrifying but Phoebe found herself fascinated by what she saw and falling to her knees beside the lifeless body, she reached out her hand to touch the blood on the floor. It still felt warm, soaking into the hem of her silky nightgown and she pressed both her palms into it, before she lifted her now bloody hands and looked straight at Bill.

Smearing Denise's blood all over her face and chest, she kept staring into his eyes, wordlessly challenging him and he was on her in a flash, pushing her onto her back as his mouth devoured hers.

She was lying in Denise's blood, her back covered in it now, but it turned her on even more and she moaned, when Bill ripped the clothes off her body and pushed inside her without warning. Her back arched off the floor as he began pounding in to her without holding back, going faster and faster until the only sound she could make was a high-pitched, continuous keening.

Her skin was slippery from all the blood that seemed to cover her from head to toe now and he grabbed her by the throat to keep her in place, cutting off her air. It only intensified everything for her and she felt herself close to release, incoherent gurgles spilling form her lips as she stared up at Bill.

His fangs popped out, making her clench around his member and with a growl, his head snapped towards her neck but just like last time, she woke up before she could feel his teeth sink into her flesh, jolting upright.

She was panting heavily again, frantically running her hands and eyes over her body to make sure there wasn't any blood on her. With a heavy sigh, she let herself fall back onto the bad, staring at the ceiling as she tried to gather her thoughts.

It was disconcerting how she had felt in the dream, but even thinking about it now, she couldn't find it within her to be horrified about the gory details. She always had a fascination with death and things like that, but she would've never guessed that it would actually turn her on this much and she wondered how much of this was Bill.

It would be much easier to blame him for this, but deep down she knew that something inside of her was wrong, wired in a way that wasn't normal. She scoffed at the thought, getting out of bed as she shook her head at herself over such a ridiculous notion.

Phoebe had accepted a long time ago that she would never be what others considered to be normal and this was just more prove to that. Her next meet up with Bill was going to be very interesting after that dream, especially if he could really see them as well.

* * *

“Loaded skins and a pitcher of Bud. Is that it for y'all?” She asked the three guys at the table with a a cheery smile, which faltered slightly at the youngest guy's thoughts about about wanting to eat the nachos she had just served them off her naked breasts instead.

Deciding that she didn't want to deal with stupid teenage boys right now, she turned around to walk away, when he grabbed her ass, but before she could react, Rene got involved, doing much the same that she had just a few nights earlier.

Rene made the handsy guy apologize, throwing him and his friends out right after and she looked after them, before she turned back around, raising her brows at Rene, “You know I could've done that myself, right?”

Rene crossed his arms over his chest, smiling at her, “I know you could, but that way you didn't have to. Besides, you remind me of my baby sister, you. I hope to God that somebody will stick up for her if some asshole ever does her that way.”

She flashed him a small smile before she hurried off, feeling creeped out by his words for some reason, though she might be biased.

Phoebe had never liked him if she was honest, but in the interest of keeping the peace she had never said anything to anyone, mainly because she couldn't really say herself what it was about him.

His thoughts were weird, chaotic, which made it hard to get a good read on him and she could never be bothered to actually try, instinctively shying away from doing so.

She passed Arlene on the way back and couldn't help but overhear the redhead thinking about how she hoped she wasn't pregnant. Phoebe automatically moved in for a hug before she could stop herself and the redhead returned the hug in surprise before she stiffened.

“Did you just read my mind?” she accused her, pulling away from the hug and Phoebe cringed guiltily, trying to apologize.

“I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Arlene wasn't too pleased and told her her private thoughts were none of Phoebe's business, before walking off, still steaming.

Phoebe was about to do the same, when Sam called her over, wanting to see her in his office and she knew he had seen the whole thing. Shuffling past him, she sat down in a chair and crossed her arms over her chest.

“You know I didn't mean to. It just happens sometimes,” she exclaimed irritably but Sam didn't seem interested in that.

“Is it true you can't hear the vampire's thoughts at all?” Her eyes widened, before they narrowed and then she let out a scoff, shaking her head.

“Really Sam? Squeezing information out of my best friend? Stop tryin' to meddle in my business!” She jumped off her chair, ready to storm out of his office, but he called after her.

“I'm worried about you Phoebe, that vampire is bad news.” Whirling around, she stomped up to him, poking him in the chest with her finger as she glared angrily.

“I know that you're worried about me, but you have to stop putting me on that pedestal in your mind. I'm not some innocent, naive girl that has no idea about the world and it's many dangers. You have no idea about the things I have heard and seen because if you had, you wouldn't treat me like I'm made of glass.” With that she stormed off, furious that her friends seemed to think her incapable of taking care of herself after they had known her for so long. She had been in more fistfights than she cared to admit, especially for a female, because she had very little tolerance for idiots, the only exception being her brother.

“Baby girl, don't even let that get you down,” Lafayette called at her when she passed the kitchen and she stopped in her tracks to look over at him, before she smirked.

“You have no idea what's happenin', right?” He just grinned at her, fanning himself with a wicker fan, “Don't matter what it is, don't let nothing get you down. It's the only way to live.”

Phoebe's smirk widened at that, her eyes twinkling and she pointed her finger at him as she walked backwards.

“You my beautiful friend, are absolutely right. Fuck em all, I say.” She winked at him when he started cackling and she made her way over to Tara behind the bar, wondering aloud over what had happened to her tables, before she caught on to the news report.

“Hey, turn that up,” Phoebe ordered Tara and they both listened as the news anchor talked about a freak accident that claimed nine lives, including Reverend Theodore Newlin as well as his wife Yvette and their baby-daughter Bethany. The two friends shared a shocked look, neither of them sure what to say as the news man droned on about the cause of the accident.

“I should go back to work,” Phoebe said thoughtfully, theories already running wild in her head and she wondered if vampires might be responsible for the death of the Newlins.

It wouldn't be all that difficult for them, after seeing what just one vampire could do with a few trees and a trailer, and she had no doubt in her mind that it would be possible to stage a car accident just as easily.

After her shift, she drove over to the Compton house instead of home, as she had promised Bill to get him some contacts for electricians who would come out here at night. It were probably almost all the same people Bill had already called, but whereas he could only call at night while they were closed, she could call during the day.

There might have been a couple of threats involved after they refused, but the plus side of being able to hear peoples thoughts was the leverage it gave her. Though in fairness, she never had to use it before, at least not on someone besides her brother, but in this case, she felt like it was necessary.

The only reason why they refused was because Bill was a vampire and that was just ridiculous, because he wouldn't go through the trouble of getting someone to fix his electrics, just so he could feed on them. But people around here weren't really known for being the brightest so she wasn't sure why she had even been surprised.

Getting out of her car, she noticed a dark red convertible already parked at the house and her brows furrowed when she saw the stickers on the back as well as the plates. She was pretty sure, that the car belonged to either someone who really liked vampires or to a vampire himself, both options were viable.

Hesitating, she stood on the lawn for a moment, torn between going up to the house or just leaving because she didn't want to find out either way.

Deciding on just placing the envelope she had prepared on his doorstep in hopes of Bill finding it, she carefully approached and put it down, before she hurried away again and got into her car.

She was actually kind of glad she didn't have to see him, he had obviously forgotten that she had promised to come over and it was most likely for the best. Rummaging through her purse to get out her keys after she had gotten out of her car, she startled when she looked up and saw Bill standing on the porch.

“Fuck! Jeez, you scared the crap outta me!” Phoebe put a hand over her racing heart, trying to control her breath as she glared at him and he looked contrite.

“I'm sorry. It wasn't intentional. I just got here. I wanted to make sure that you were safe. I felt you at the house earlier, but I... had company.”

“You don't have to explain yourself to me, we barely know each other. And as you can see, I'm safe so good night,” she replied hastily, because the longer she looked at him, the more she remembered her dream, just like it had happened last night.

He obviously sensed the direction her thoughts had taken, because he came down the steps, slowly striding towards her, his eyes never leaving hers.

“That was a very interesting dream you had last night. I was quite surprised.” Pushing a strand of hair from her face, he grabbed hold of her chin, tilting her head upwards and she shuddered, but it wasn't because of the coldness of his fingers.

Before she could give in to the allure of him, she stepped away from him, shaking her head to clear her mind and she held up her hands in placation.

“I think we need to stop seein' each other,” she stated firmly and Bill stepped closer to her, making her retreat up the steps and onto the porch.

“Why?!” There was incredulity in his voice as well as a hint of anger and she felt her heartbeat accelerate, for the first time feeling actually scared of him.

“Because I don't like what you seem to bring out in me! I don't know if it's just all me or if you somehow influence me through your blood and I don't want to deal with this, I'd much rather keep to humans” she blurted out before she whirled around, intent to go inside, but she ran straight into Bill's chest, his hands grabbing her shoulders before she could stumble back.

“You will never find a human man you can be yourself with,” he said gravely as she started up at him and she pushed his hands off her shoulders, rushing past him.

“Just leave Bill,” she called over her shoulder without looking at him and went inside.

Just like last night, her Gran was already in bed and she really hoped that her grandmother hadn't heard what they had been talking about, because they hadn't been very quiet.

If she was lucky, Bill would leave her alone from now on and hopefully she would soon be free from his blood. The longer it went on, the more uncomfortable did it make her feel for some reason, her gut telling her that she had to stay away.

She knew there was something off about him but she wasn't sure if she only felt that way because he was a vampire and she didn't know that species very well, or if he had some ulterior motive she wasn't aware off.

It was ironic that she was unable to read his thoughts, because right about now she would very much like to know what was going on in his head.

After changing and getting into bed, she was lying awake for a while, forcing her eyes to stay open because she was afraid of even more dreams but soon, she couldn't keep them from closing anymore.


	6. Chapter 6

There hadn't been any dreams this time, but her sleep hadn't been very restful either, with her waking up a couple times during the night, without any discernible reason.

The sun had barely come up yet, even her Gran was still asleep, but she had no desire to stay in bed, it seemed futile to her, so she got dressed and went downstairs.

She felt restless, a nervous energy coursing through her body and she decided to use said energy for something useful, something that would distract her well enough. Going outside, she went to the shed and and pulled out a rake, starting to rake together all the leaves that littered the lawn and driveway.

After gathering three large bags, she got the lawnmower from the shed as well and started mowing the lawn, figuring that it would be late enough for her to make noise. She was just about finished, when her Gran came outside, a glass of lemonade in hand, calling out her name so she stopped the lawnmower and smiled at her.

“Mornin' Gran. Hope I didn't wake you?” Her grandmother tentatively smiled back at her, seemingly confused as to why Phoebe was out here this early, doing yard-work of all things.

“No, you didn't, but you're gonna faint out here in this heat, honey! It's barely 9:00 and already 80 degrees. Here. I made you some lemonade. Fresh-squeezed. Now, what has gotten into you?” She looked at her granddaughter inquisitively and Phoebe shrugged, gulping down half of the lemonade before she answered.

“I woke up real early today and decided to do something useful instead of lounging around. God knows Jason would take his sweet time to actually get to it if we asked, so I figured I'd do it myself.” Raising her brows, Adele Stackhouse clearly didn't believe one word of what Phoebe had just told her and the young woman quickly looked away.

“Are you concerned about the vampire? Phoebe, has he done something untoward?” her grandmother asked her urgently and Phoebe sighed, slumping her shoulders.

“No, noting untoward. I told him last night that I didn't want to see him anymore, because I think he and I have very different ideas about where this acquaintance is headed.” Nodding understandingly, her Gran put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle pat.

“Well, that's just the way things go sometimes. Why don't you come on inside, and let me make you something to eat? If you're gonna be out workin' like a horse, you ought to at least to have somethin' in your stomach.” Even though it was poised as a question, Phoebe knew better than to argue, her Gran was very serious about food, especially breakfast, so she followed her inside. Sitting down at the table, she picked up the paper, scoffing when she read a particular article.

“Marthaville's gettin' a Starbucks, can you believe that? Arlene told me, that people are less calcium-deficient than they used to be because of all the fancy coffee they drink nowadays, though I have no idea if that's true.” Her grandmother turned around, a plate of scrambled eggs in her hand and frown on her face.

“You know, I never thought of that, but it does make sense. But I cannot for the life of me see why anybody would spend $3 on a cup of coffee with too much milk. That's no coffee.” Phoebe snorted, shaking her head as she grinned at her Gran, watching her sit down at the table as well.

They ate in amicable silence, until her Gran put down her cutlery, looking at her with a rather serious expression, which made Phoebe pause with her fork halfway to her mouth, before she put it down.

Her Gran seemed to hesitate, before she straightened her shoulders and Phoebe raised her brows at her, “I don't want to intrude on your private business, but I'm a bit confused. When Mr. Compton came to visit, I got the impression, that you really liked him as in more than a friend.”

She knew this would come up eventually, her grandmother had very keen eyes for such a thing and at the time Phoebe had been almost delirious with need, so she could only imagine how she might've looked at Bill that night. The thought made her cringe inwardly and she stopped her Gran from going on further by holding up her hand.

“In all honesty, it's complicated. I'm not really sure how I feel about him, on the one hand there is this draw I'm not sure is real and on the other hand I'm unsure about him as a person, or non-person or whatever. I don't know what he's thinkin' and it only makes me more nervous about him,” Phoebe admitted, actually feeling relieved now that she had said it out loud, even though she couldn't tell her Gran all of it, especially not the part about the blood.

“I would imagine that that wouldn't be such a bad thing for you with your... ability,” Gran hesitantly said and Phoebe scoffed and took her plate to the sink, turning her back to her grandmother.

They never really openly discussed what she could do and it made her uncomfortable talking about it with her grandmother.

“You know, your grandfather used to know things.” That made the young woman straighten up and she gripped onto the sink, staring out of the window.

“What things?” she asked haltingly.

“If somebody was having money problems, running around behind their wife's back, sick ... that kind of thing. Personal things they never would have told anybody about.” She turned around then, giving her Gran a sad smile as she shook her head.

“I hate being able to do that. I know more about the people around me then I would care to. I don't want to know these things.”

Her Gran smiled at her, slightly nodding, before she went on, “But then Earl's brother, your Great-Uncle Francis, came back from Korea in real bad shape, all torn up from the things he'd seen. Earl knew he was thinking about killing himself. He went over there in the middle of the night one night. Francis was just about to kick the chair out from underneath him, already had the noose around his neck. But Earl talked him out of it. I just think there is a purpose for everything that God creates, whether it's a unique ability or a cup of overpriced coffee with too much milk ... or a vampire. God will reveal that purpose when the time is right.”

Walking over, Phoebe gave her grandmother a side hug, pressing a kiss against her cheek as she whispered loud enough for her Gran to hear.

“Didn't Great-Uncle Francis kill himself, with a shotgun?” The elderly woman's reply was accompanied by an airy tone and slight smile, making Phoebe chuckle.

“Oh, yes, he did, but that was years later.” Shaking her head at her grandmother, she went back upstairs to brush her teeth, before she returned to the yard and finished her work, sitting down on the porch steps once she was done.

Today was her day off, so she let out a groan when her phone rang and she saw that it was Sam.

“The answer is no, I'm not coming in today,” she said by way of greeting and could hear Sam chuckle.

“And good morning to you too, Phoebe. But that's not why I'm callin', I just need you to run by Dawn's and wake her up. She probably just overslept. Could you do that for me?” Sighing, Phoebe pinched the bridge of her nose before she reluctantly agreed, ending the call before she drove off in her old, yellow car.

Dawn lived across from Arlene and when Phoebe arrived, she knocked on Dawn's door, receiving no reply much to her annoyance.

Rolling her eyes, she tried the door, finding it unlocked, and walked inside, calling out to her co-worker, “Dawn, get your ass outta bed, you're late for work!”

She still got no reply and she started to grow worried, tentatively walking deeper into the house and back towards the bedroom, calling out the other females name. She could hear the alarm beeping and the worry intensified even more, turning into dread. When her eyes fell on Dawn's sprawled out body lying on her bed, she immediately knew that she was dead and a sob escaped her lips.

She had left her phone in the car, but it felt wrong somehow to leave the room so she did the only thing she could think of, she called out for help, hoping that the neighbors would hear.

Walking closer to the bed, she stared down at Dawn, being careful not to touch anything, when she heard something break behind her and she twisted around, seeing her brother.

“What the fuck?” He looked shocked, staring wide eyed at Dawn's lifeless body and Phoebe walked over to him, pulling him in a hug.

“It's gonna be OK,” she whispered, feeling like she should try and comfort him, because she knew he and Dawn had been an item.

Then Dawn's neighbor Mrs. Lefebvre appeared, crossing herself when she saw what the commotion had been about, getting closer to the bed before she started accusing Jason.

“What did you do? I saw you last night, Jason Stackhouse. I heard y'all fightin', then she took a shot at you, and you ran off. And now she's dead.” Phoebe raised her brows at her brother and he started defending himself, holding up the flowers in his hand.

“Yeah. We had a fight. But I came here to apologize!” Shaking her head at her brother, she sighed disappointedly and he was obviously mistaking as to why.

“Phoebs...I didn't do this! You gotta believe me,” he pleaded with her and she was about to reply, when Dawn's neighbor stormed off, telling them that she was going to call the police and Jason yelled after her, before he threw the flowers across the room.

“I had nothing to do with this,” he pointed at Dawn's body and stormed off as well, not giving Phoebe a chance to reply and she just stood there, gazing at Dawn.

The police arrived shortly after and Sheriff Dearborne sat her down, taking down her statement.

“Now, I realize you've been through a lot. And you're scared. But I need you to try and remember when you got here. Was the door open? Or just unlocked?”

Phoebe had to think about this for a moment, before she remembered, “It was unlocked, not open.”

She got distracted by the thoughts around her though, hearing Andy gripe about not getting enough respect and Mike who was in Dawn's bedroom, admiring the dead girls breasts which was just plain disgusting and disrespectful.

Her brother was worried they would lock him up for this and by the way they had reacted after Maudette had been killed, it might be likely, even though he was clearly innocent.

“Phoebe!” The Sheriff's yell of her name startled her back to the task at hand and she smiled apologetically at him, asking him to repeat the question.

“Is that the exact position you found her in?” She nodded, folding her hands in her lap.

“Yes, I was careful not to touch anythin',” she replied and Dearborne nodded at her appreciatively before he told her they were finished.

Andy Bellefleur was questioning Mrs. Lefebvre, while the Sheriff talked to her brother and she knew they would take him with them.

And she was right, they put him in cuffs and Andy pushed him inside the car, while she stood on the porch of Dawn's house, watching the proceedings with a frown.

Sheriff Dearborne came out of Dawn's house, thanking her, telling her they would be in touch and she sunk down on the porch steps, wondering how it had come to this.

“Came as soon as I heard,” she heard Sam say and she lifted her head to smile sadly at him, patting the spot next to her and he sat down.

“I'm sorry you had to be the one to find her,” he tried consoling her and she almost laughed, because that was the least of her worries right about now.

Sure she and Dawn had been friendly with each other, maybe even been friends, but Phoebe wasn't sure how she felt about all of this.

She hadn't cried or screamed or did anything else people who just discovered a dead friend might do and she wondered what was wrong with her, not that she was going to tell Sam about that.

“If it hadn't been me it would've been someone else, it's not your fault,” she said instead and they fell silent again.

“Oh, I tell you, Phoebs. Sometimes I don't even recognize this world we're livin' in. I mean, goddamn it!” Sam suddenly exclaimed and Phoebe frowned disapprovingly at him, shaking her head.

“The world has always been like this, we were just lucky is all.” He looked at her in surprise, clearly not having expected her to say such a thing, before he turned thoughtful.

“You think maybe I should...shut down the bar for the day?” The dark-haired woman shook her head, “People gonna want to gather somewhere and have a drink or two after this. I know I said I wasn't goin' to come in today because of my day off, but I think an exception can be made.”

She gave him a small smile and he nodded, “All right, then. We'll open.”

“I might be a bit late though, I have to tell Gran what happened. She probably knows already, but I think it would be good to hear it from me, who knows what people have told her.”

Standing up she was about to leave, just as a police officer came up behind them, asking Sam if he was the landlord and had a key for Dawn's storage unit.

Sam stood up as well, pulling a key ring out of his pocket, before he kissed the top of her head and walked off and she stared after him, until someone spoke up behind her, asking her to move.

Mike Spencer and a young man she had never seen before were carrying a black body-bag between them and Mike smiled at her when he saw her standing there.

“Hey, Phoebe. Meet Neil Jones, my new apprentice. He's from Kentucky.” She looked at him in bewilderment before she greeted the young man, who returned it awkwardly and she watched after them, as they loaded up the body-bag into the van, trying to gauge how she felt about it.

Guilty, she felt guilty for not feeling anything, at least not for Dawn. She was irritated with her brother for getting himself in such a mess as well as annoyed at the police for thinking Jason was the one responsible, but that was about it.

Getting back in her car, she drove back home, still deep in thought when she entered the kitchen and greeted her grandmother, who of course already knew what happened.

* * *

“He didn't do it, you know,” her Gran said as if trying to convince Phoebe of it and the young woman nodded, refraining from rolling her eyes.

“Of course he didn't. He's a lotta things, but a murdered isn't one of them.”

“The thing is though, Phoebe...in all the years that I've lived in Bon Temps, I can't recall but...two, maybe three murders, and now there are two in one week. People are not gonna stand for it. And if the police can't find the person who did it, they're gonna find Jason. He needs your help,” her Gran went on to say and Phoebe straightened her shoulders, setting her jaw in a determined line.

“I'm not gonna to let them lock my brother away for somethin' he didn't do, you have my word on this. You and Jason are the only family I have and I will try my darnedest to find out who really did this,” Phoebe promised gravelly and her grandmother pulled her into a tight hug that she gladly reciprocated.

* * *

At work she did exactly as she promised, listening in to everyone around her and it was jarring to say the least. Even if she couldn't be sad over Dawn for some reason, the nasty things people thought about her were still making her angry and it was hard to keep the smile on her face.

When Arlene made a comment about it being Dawn's own fault she was killed because the deceased girl hung around in vampire bars, Phoebe had reached her breaking point.

“Do you have no respect for the dead, Arlene Fowler? You ought to be ashamed of yourself for saying such a thing! You all think you're so much better than her, just because she didn't live up to your expectations. And no I don't think she deserved what happened to her, nobody deserves that. Also, I'm taking your ranch.”

Stealing said ranch off Arlene's tray, she stormed off to give that horrible woman at table five the stupid ranch for her stupid fries, slamming the bowl down harder than necessary, before she stormed off again.

Work was so much worse whilst she listened to everyone, until she came up next to Hoyt who was thinking the nicest things about Dawn and she just had to stop and thank him, though he was confused as to why.

She gave him a kiss on the cheek which seemed to make him very happy, but then her attention switched to Jason who had just walked in and she went up to him, stepping in his way.

“I don't think you killed Dawn. I just wanted to make that clear because earlier at her house you seemed to believe I was accusing you or somethin',” she started to say, but he was only half listening to her, looking a little worse for wear and twitchy.

“I gotta stop you, because it sounds like you're revvin' up for a long one. And I really need to see Lafayette. Talk to you later.” With that he walked away from her and she stared after him, before she rolled her eyes and went back to work.

She was taking the order of two customers, when she noticed the atmosphere inside the bar and grill change and turned around to look, seeing Arlene talk to Bill before she walked off to the bar.

Contemplating for a moment, she followed her, seeing Tara put a cold bottle of A-negative Tru Blood on Arlene's tray and Phoebe rolled her eyes, taking the bottle wordlessly and pouring the contents down the drain before she got the right flavor out of the fridge and heated it up.

Taking a napkin, she threw Tara who had been watching her a pointed look and brought the warm bottle over to Bill, placing it on the table, before she sat down across from him.

“I need you to go to that vampire bar in Shreveport with me. Dawn, the other waitress that worked here has been murdered in much the same way as another girl, Maudette Pickins, and the cops think my brother did it, which of course he didn't. I listened in on the people here, trying to find something to help with finding the real killer and apparently both Dawn and Maudette hung out at that bar,” she explained without beating around the bush and Bill frowned at her.

“Don't take this the wrong way, but are you sure you're brother didn't do it?” Glaring at him, she tipped a finger against her head, raising her brow at him, because that should be enough of an answer, but he still seemed to be reluctant.

“It's called Fangtasia,” he told her as he looked away and Phoebe snorted, shaking her head.

“Of course it is. So, are you gonna go with me? This wont be a date though, just so we're clear, I just want to do some sniffin' around, see if anybody knows anythin'.” Bill seemed amused by that for some reason, but he agreed, proposing to go tonight and they decided to meet up at her place, because she needed to change beforehand.

Phoebe informed Sam that she was leaving, feeling a bit bad for lying to him and saying she wasn't feeling well. But if she told him where she was about to go, he would start arguing with her again and she really had no time for such nonsense right now.

Back at home, she pulled out her favorite dress that she didn't get to wear often, because black wasn't something that was very feasible in the kind of climate she lived in. It had see-through, lace sleeves that went down to her wrists, the top was also black lace, but not see-through like the sleeves because it had black fabric underneath.

A small, black belt around the waist that was sown onto the dress, separated the lacy top from the flared, silk skirt, the hem ending just above her knees. Pairing the outfit with a pair of black high-heels, she pushed part of her dark hair to the back of her head, securing it with a hair-clip before she pulled a few thin strands out to frame her face.

Almost satisfied, she put on dark-red lipstick, a thick silver choker with a blood-red pendant hanging down from it and then smirked at her reflection.

She hadn't dressed up like this in a long time and she had to admit she looked good, her milky skin stood in stark contrast to the darkness of her dress, her cornflower-blue eyes popping against the deep red of her lips.

Bill looked about ready to pounce on her when she came down the stairs and saw him talking to her Gran. He didn't say a word though, careful not to touch her when he lead her to the car and they remained silent while they drove up to Shreveport.

Her grandmother had made him promise that no harm was going to come to Phoebe before they left, which she found sweet but the look he had shot Phoebe's way when he delivered that promise seemed doubtful.

And by the way he was gripping the steering wheel, she could tell he was anxious about something, most likely because of her outfit if she had to take a guess. Although it had a high back that came almost up to her neck, the neckline was a bit more risque, showing off a good amount of her generous cleavage.

“I know you don't approve of the way I dressed tonight, but looking like this, people will be more inclined to talk to me,” she pointed out reasonably and he shot her an incredulous look, shaking his head.

“Phoebe, talking isn't the only thing most of them want to be goin' to do to you. It's bad enough that your smell is almost irresistible, but looking like this on top of that... I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to keep that promise I gave your grandmother.”

Turning in her seat, she frowned at him, “my smell?” she asked curiously and he shot her another look, before he sighed.

“Yes, your smell. You smell like sunlight with a hint of dark chocolate and it's gonna draw every vampire to you in no time.” Feeling oddly pleased by this, she looked out the window to hide her smile, but he could apparently tell nonetheless.

“This isn't a laughing matter, Phoebe. This could be life or death, so I want you to stay by my side and don't go off talkin' to anyone on your own, understood?”

Saluting mockingly, she gave him a snappy 'yes,sir' and he let out an irritated growl, but didn't say anything more.


	7. Chapter 7

The bar wasn't looking all that impressive from the outside as she found and she glanced at Bill as he put an arm around her waist when they got out of the car and walked to the entrance, but she didn't comment on the possessive gesture, figuring it might be a vampire thing.

They walked inside and she had to smirk at the décor, everything was held in either black or red, much like the color of peoples clothes around them, it was just as tacky as she had suspected a place called Fangtasia to be.

Before they could get very far, a blonde in a black corset and black beaded necklace, with her hair pulled back stepped into their way, obviously knowing Bill.

“Bill. Haven't seen you in a while,” the blonde addressed him without smiling and looked bored when Bill mentioned that he was mainstreaming.

“Good for you. Who's the doll?” She asked disinterestedly and though she could introduce herself, Phoebe didn't do so, wanting to see where this would lead.

“Pam, this is Phoebe. Phoebe, this is Pam,” Bill introduced them and Phoebe smirked, lazily letting her eyes wander over the blonde in front of her.

“Pleasure,” Phoebe simply said and she could see a flicker of interest in the blondes blue eyes, before the boredom returned.

“Can I see your ID?” Raising her brows at that, Phoebe thought about it for a moment, before her smirk widened, and she pulled out her ID, handing it over.

Bill seemed tense beside her, his fingers flexing against her back, but she ignored him, listening to Pam instead.

“I can no longer tell human ages. We must be careful we serve no minors...in any capacity. Twenty-five, huh? How sweet it is,” the blonde commented sarcastically as she handed Phoebe back her ID and the young woman couldn't help herself to quip back in the same tone.

“Oh yes, It's all sugar and spice just like me.” Pam raised her brow at her, but Bill started pulling her away and she let her eyes wander over the club some more.

“This is exactly like I pictured it, only with less merchandise,” she whispered at Bill and he informed her that it would get more authentic as the night wore on, which she couldn't wait to see.

They walked up to the bar and she was sure that the young man who was hurrying away from them was the new apprentice of Mike, but she wasn't sure.

The bartender, who had long dark hair and a bunch of tattoos which were clearly visible because he was only wearing a black vest as a top, greeted Bill without a smile, which seemed to be standard for vampires it seemed. He apparently thought she was Bill's meal, which he disputed, introducing her to the bartender as his friend.

“This is my friend Phoebe. Phoebe, Longshadow.” Longshadow stared at her and though it would probably make most people uneasy, she found herself smirking at him, much the same way as with Pam.

“I would say it's nice to meet you, but first I would need a glass of whiskey. No ice, please.” Bill hurriedly piped in that he wanted a Tru Blood and she couldn't help but roll her eyes at his over-protectiveness, which Longshadow caught on to, giving her a toothy grin that showed off his fangs.

“Phoebe here would like to know if she could ask you a few questions. Would this be acceptable?” Bill asked the long-haired vampire and before he could answer, she pulled out two pictures, sliding them over to him on the bar.

“You seen either of those girls around here?” Longshadow took a look at the pictures and said ,”Yeah, I seen 'em both here before.” That was what she had expected to hear, but it didn't really help her to just confirm they had been here.

“Any chance you could tell me who they were with?” she asked though she had a feeling she wouldn't get an answer, at least not one she could work with.

“That's something we don't notice here. You won't either,” was Longshadow's unsurprising reply and she nodded, wanting to take the pictures back but he held up the one with Maudette on it, showing it to her.

“This one. She wanted to die,” he said very seriously and she took a glance around the room, before she looked back at him with a smirk, leaning slightly closer over the bar.

“Isn't that why they all come here?” She whispered and he actually broke out into a smile, which surprisingly made him look much nicer.

“You got yourself a clever one, Bill,” Longshadow pointed out with a smirk but Bill just payed him for their drinks, picking them off the bar before he started walking away and with one last look over her shoulder, she mouthed a 'thanks' at Longshadow before she followed Bill.

He stopped at a high table, standing next to her as she slipped onto a chair and she took a sip of her whiskey before she started listening in to the people around her.

“How's your drink,” Bill suddenly asked, breaking her concentration and she shot him an exasperated look.

“Please don't try to make small talk, I'm tryin' to concentrate here,” she admonished him, but then her eyes fell onto a blonde male vampire sitting on a throne like chair on some sort of stage, some guy kneeling in front of him.

He was handsome, more than handsome actually and even though he was sitting down, she could tell he was tall, his blonde hair hanging down to his shoulders, perfectly framing his face.

Cocking her head to the side, she didn't stop looking at the blonde as she spoke to Bill, “Who's that?”

Bill followed her line of vision, seemingly upset, “Oh, you noticed him, did you? Everyone does. That's Eric. He's the oldest thing in this bar.”

Tearing her eyes away from the beautiful blonde, she looked at Bill, seeing him glower and she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her, making Bill frown at her.

Before he could ask her what she found so funny though, the balding man that had been kneeling in front of that Eric character flew through the air, kicked away by the blonde himself and she wasn't prepared for the visceral reaction she had at the sight.

Her heart sped up, warmth pooling in her lower abdomen and she actually had to clench her thighs together for a moment, knowing that her reaction wasn't going to go unnoticed in a bar full of vampires.

She stared at the man who had a bleeding wound on his balding head and was walking off with a female vampire, before she shook herself out of it.

Bill was staring at her, his teeth clenched and she knew that he had definitely noticed her reaction, so she looked away, concentrating on listening to everyone around them again.

“You able to pick up anything?” Bill suddenly asked and her shoulders slumped as she shook her head, taking a large swig of whiskey and closing her eyes as it burned it's way down her throat.

“No, everyone here is just thinkin' about sex, but that is unsurprising in a place like this,” she replied and looked over at him, but he wasn't looking at her, he was focused on the stage and as she looked over herself, she saw Pam standing next to the vampire named Eric, both of them looking over.

“Uh-Uh,” Bill said quietly and she shot him a glance, raising her brows questioningly, “It's Eric. He's scanned you twice. He's goin' to summon us.”

At that explanation, she looked over to the two blonde vampires again, trying to calm down her heart again, the thought of talking to the blonde making butterflies erupt in her stomach.

Using just his fingers, Eric waved them over and Phoebe followed after Bill, drowning her glass beforehand, because she had a feeling she was going to need the liquid courage.

Bill took her hand in his, which she frowned at but refrained from commenting on, and led her over and up the small stage, coming to a stop in front of the blonde vampires.

“Bill Compton. It has been a while,” Eric said as way of greeting, not even glancing in her direction, which was a good thing because she was unabashedly staring at him.

He was even more attractive up close and she felt a tug in her belly, as if something was pulling her towards him.

She was so caught up in staring at him, that she didn't even hear what they were talking about, only catching the end of the sentence, as Eric finally looked at her, “I see that is going well for you.”

Phoebe was about to introduce herself to him, when Bill preempted her, “Yes, of course. Uh, sorry. Eric, this is my friend...”

“Phoebe Stackhouse,” Eric interrupted him and Phoebe had to smirk, throwing a look at Pam.

“Knew you were lying about not being able to tell a humans age,” she said with mock disappointment and Bill squeezed her hand in warning, making her wince and glare at him.

Eric said something in another language to Pam, with her answering him in the same strange tongue, before Eric addressed Phoebe again.

“Miss Stackhouse, I understand you've been asking questions about some of my customers. If you have anything to ask, you should ask it of me.”

His eyes wandered over the club disinterestedly before his gaze returned to Phoebe and she pulled out the same two photographs she had already shown Longshadow, handing them to Eric.

“You recognize either of those girls?” She asked and he looked down at the pictures, pointing at one of them.

“This one offered herself to me. But I found her too pathetic for my attentions. Now, this one, however...,” he looked directly at her, “I have tasted.”

He seemed to wait for her reaction, something calculating in his blue eyes, but her face remained passive and she looked over at Pam.

“I remember 'em both. Never had either of them, though. They weren't really my type,” the blonde vampiress admitted and Phoebe nodded at that, taking the photographs back from Eric.

“Well, thanks anyway for your time,” she said with a shrug, ready to leave because she feared she was going to do something stupid if she stayed in Eric's proximity any longer.

“I'm not finished with you yet!” The blonde vampire on his throne said rather forcefully, the authority in his voice made a shiver run down her spine and she froze while she was putting the pictures away, staring at him. He started smiling then, a knowing glint in his eyes as he looked at her and she felt her face heat up.

“Please... sit,” he said, inclining his head to the chair beside him without looking away from her and she found her feet moving on their own before she even made the conscious decision to do so.

Her hand slipped out of Bill's, who seemed reluctant to let her go but she paid him no mind, fully focused on the blonde next to her.

“So, Bill... Are you quite attached to your friend?” Eric asked Bill whilst he kept staring at her but before he could answer, Phoebe heard herself speak.

“I'm not with him if that’s what you want to know,” she blurted out and Eric smirked at her, slowly looking her up and down, his eyes lingering on her decollete for a moment.

“Well, what a pity for him.” Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Bill gritting his teeth and she glanced over at him, rolling her eyes.

“Get over yourself Compton,” she sighed exasperatedly and Eric's smirk widened, as he looked back at Bill.

“Looks like the pretty lady isn't too fond of you, Compton.” The dark-haired vampire glared at her and she almost flinched away from the anger in his eyes, feeling her heart accelerate, but once again, it wasn't from fear.

Seeing as she was still connected to him through his blood, he caught on to that fact rather quickly, his glare turning into a smirk before he addressed Eric again.

“I assure you, she likes me just fine,” he drawled out and Eric looked between the pair, raising his brow curiously, before he replied to Bill.

“Sit with us. We have catching up to do, you and I. It has been too long.” It wasn't a request as much as it was a command and Bill reluctantly sat down, only to be ignored by the blonde vampire, who kept his focus on Phoebe.

She felt like she was drowning in his eyes, her skin buzzing as if she had put her hand into an electrical current but then she heard something, that broke her out of her trance.

_'Where the fuck are they? My backup was supposed to be here 15 minutes ago. I can't handle a raid on my own. These fucking vampires...'_

Her head snapped around, scanning the crowd to see where that particular line of thought had come from and spotted a guy in a base cap and black shirt with fishnet sleeves, looking around with a scowl.

“We have to get out of here, there's going to be a raid,” she said absentmindedly, her attention still on the undercover cop but she turned around when she felt somebody looking at her.

“Tell me you're not an undercover cop...,,” Eric began to say, but she interrupted him, pointing out the guy she had been listening to.

“No, he is. His backup was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago, so it's safe to assume they will get here shortly.” Eric still seemed skeptical, pointing out, that there was nothing illegal going on and she rolled her eyes at him, standing up from her chair.

“The guy you kicked earlier is in the ladies room getting fed on by some vampire chick, Taryn or something? Doesn't really matter, because I'm leaving.”

Just when Pam asked her how she could possible know this, just like Phoebe had warned, police stormed the place and Eric stood up, ordering them to follow him.

They hurried through the crowd and out the back, Bill picking her up as soon as they got outside.

“I enjoyed meeting you, Miss Stackhouse. You will come again,” Eric called out to her before he and Pam sped off and Bill sped them back to his car.

* * *

She was silent when they started driving away, going over the night in her head, trying to figure out why she had been so drawn to Eric the moment she laid eyes on him. Sure he was beautiful, no doubt about that but she had also seen first hand that he seemed to have little regard for humans and it should've turned her off and not on.

Foreign music was blasting from the stereo, but the happy sound of the song was grating to her ears and she leaned forward to turn it off, silence enveloping the inside of the car.

“Could you please pull over for a minute?” Phoebe asked Bill, because she was feeling antsy and confused and the feeling of the moving vehicle was driving her nuts.

He did as she requested, pulling off the road and onto a dirt street and she closed her eyes and relaxed back into her seat.

“I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier, I don't know what came over me,” she said quietly, her eyes still closed and she felt him looking at her.

“He is dangerous Phoebe and he hasn't been a human in a very long time.” The words hung around them, a clear warning to her and she opened her eyes, looking at him blankly.

“You aren't human either, no matter how you try to pretend in front of me,” she reminded him, because what he had said ruffled her feathers the wrong way, but before he could reply, a police car came up behind them, sirens blaring.

Throwing her head back, she let out a groan, before she addressed Bill, “Open the window and let me do the talkin', OK?”

The officer came up to the window and she leaned over the middle console, politely greeting him, before he asked her what they were doing out this late and she told him they were on their way home from a date.

He clearly didn't believe her, mentioning the raid at the bar and wanting to know if they had come from there but she denied it, even after he went as far as saying the name and looking expectantly at her, before he turned his attention to Bill.

“How about you, son? You seem awful quiet. Don't you talk?” Phoebe could tell things were about to take a turn by the way Bill was looking straight ahead as if he was trying to keep calm.

“I'm a man of few words,” he replied to the officer, not looking at him, but the cop seemed amused by that.

“A man of few words. I like that.” He turned towards Phoebe again and she knew shit was about to hit the fan when she heard his next words.

“Let me shine this light here on your neck, miss, if you don't mind.” Bill turned his heads towards her and she could see his fangs were out and she tried to safe the situation, ignoring the thrill that shot trough her at the murderous expression on Bill's face.

Sweeping her hair to the side, she presented her neck to the officers flashlight, keeping her eyes locked on Bill's.

“Why don't you ask her if you can shine it between her legs?” the vampire asked the officer, displeasure clear in his tone and Phoebe had to suppress a smirk as she leaned back in her seat.

“Excuse me?” Grabbing for his gun, the officer seemed to get a bit worried and still looking at her, Bill kept talking.

“Vampires sometimes like to feed from the femoral artery. The blood flows more freely down there so one doesn't have to suck as hard...,” he turned around to face the officer, showing off his fangs, “Or so I've been told.” It seemed to be enough for the cop, because he pulled out his gun, pointing it directly at Bill's face but then he seemed to freeze, his own face going lax.

“I like your gun. It's a beautiful weapon,” Bill went on to say and Phoebe realized, that he had glamored the man, which made her lean forward in her seat as she intently watched the exchange.

The glamored officer thanked him and even handed the weapon over when Bill asked for it and without losing eye-contact, the vampire commented on how much heavier it felt than it looked, asking if it was loaded to which the officer said yes.

“Now, you listen to me, officer. I do not take kindly to you shining your light in the eyes of my female companion. And as I have more than 100 years on you, I do not take kindly you to calling me 'son'. So the next time you pull somebody over on suspicion of bein' a vampire, you better pray to God that you're wrong. Because that vampire may not be as kind to you as I'm about to be. I'm not gonna kill you. But I am gonna keep your gun. Does that sound fair?” Bill asked him as he pointed the cop's gun at him and Phoebe got the distinct impression that her skin was on fire.

“Yes,” the officer said and after a little push from Bill, he amended it to a “Yes, sir,” before Bill wished him a nice night, put the gun away and looked over at her.

She licked her lips as she watched his face and without breaking eye-contact, he started the car and drove off, finally looking away. They didn't get very far though, before he pulled into another dirt road, driving up farther this time until they were no longer visible from the main road and he turned off the engine.

Phoebe felt like she was losing her mind, she had never been as turned on as she was right now and not for the first time since meeting Bill, she asked herself what was wrong with her.

“It's not the blood that makes you feel this way. I can only feel your emotions, not control or manipulate them,” Bill suddenly said quietly and she stared straight ahead at the trees surrounding them, her voice nothing but a faint whisper.

“I know.” She had come to the same conclusion after her reaction to Eric kicking a man across the room, if these feelings would've been coming from Bill, he wouldn't have wanted her to react like this to another male, much less another vampire.

In a flash, her door opened and before she knew it, Bill had unbuckled her seat-belt, pulled her out of the car and had her back pressed against it, towering over her.

“Why are you fighting this so hard?” he asked her irritably and she closed her eyes, not wanting to look at him when she replied, once again barely audible.

“Because I'm scared to death, Bill. I was always under the impression that I'm a good person but now I'm not so sure anymore. A decent human being wouldn't get all hot and bothered over violence or enjoy dreaming about fucking in someone else's blood.” She opened her eyes again, tears shimmering in her blue orbs and Bill's expression softened, as he gently cupped her face.

“I though we already established you're not human, at least not fully. Maybe you should stop defining yourself as such if it brings you so much pain.” Blinking at him, a few tears rolled down her face and Bill leaned closer, licking them away, making her clutch at his shirt as she shuddered.

“I don't know how to do that,” she admitted quietly and he brought his face to the side of her own, whispering, “I can show you,” before his lips were suddenly on hers.

She melted into the kiss, pulling him closer to her by his shirt as she greedily kissed him back, entangling her tongue with his, moaning into his mouth when he put his hands on her waist and lifted her, making her wind her legs around him instinctively.

There was no denying the hardness she felt pressed against her core, especially when he started grinding against her, eliciting a whimper from her as she tightened her legs around him.

Still kissing her, he removed her hand from his shirt, putting her arms around his neck and she grabbed on to his hair, tugging at the strands. He let out a groan, grinding more insistently against her, his hands sliding under the hem of her dress, slowly traveling upwards until they came to rest on her ass.

“Bill...” she moaned out when he started peppering kisses down her jaw and neck and he growled in response just as she heard something rip, coming to realize he just ripped her panties off of her.

Squeezing her legs around him, she moaned again, finding it incredible hot that he just did that as if it was nothing and she felt him smirk against her neck.

“No biting,” she managed to choke out when she heard his fangs extend and she tensed, when she felt them scratch along her skin.

“Relax, Phoebe. I'm not goin' to bite you if you don't want me to,” Bill whispered against her skin and she could practically feel his amusement when she instantly relaxed after hearing his fangs retract again.

He kissed further down her body until he came to the swell of her breasts, starting to lick and suck at them, before he pulled the neckline down, her bra-covered breasts popping out.

When he started mouthing one of her hardened nubs through the black lace, she felt like she was about to explode, feeling herself get even wetter and she wondered for a split second if there was going to be a wet spot on his pants.

All rational thought left her however, when he unceremoniously ripped her bra open and sucked a nipple into his mouth, biting down on it.

She threw her head back and screamed, the sound muffled as he clamped a hand over her mouth and she pulled so hard at his hair that she was convinced she was going to scalp him. The pain was delicious in a way she had never experienced before and it drove her wild with need, making her grind down against him, hard.

She was sure she was going to either die from heart failure or black out, her pulse going into overdrive, when he moved his lower body away from her and his fingers sneaked between her legs, starting to rub her throbbing clit.

Mewling like a cat in heat, her eyes rolled back in her head as he went faster and she felt her legs begin to tremble, her insides clenching almost painfully. Before she could reach the peak however, he removed his fingers and her eyes snapped open, a sound of protest flying out of her mouth, making him chuckle.

He moved them to the hood of the car, lying her down on it, caging her in with his arms as he stared down at her hungrily. She tried sitting up, put he put a hand around her throat, keeping her in place and she stared up at him with wide eyes, her pupils blown so wide there was barely any blue left.

“Harder,” she whispered out and with a devilish smirk, he increased the pressure around her throat and she choked out a moan, her eyes closing.

They snapped open again when he removed his hand only for both of them to land on her knees, slowly pushing up the skirt of her dress until it was bunched up at her waist, his eyes focused on her lower half.

She knew he could see all of her down there but she didn't feel ashamed or tried to hide herself, instead she spread her legs wider, giving him a better view.

He looked up at her in a mixture of surprise and satisfaction, before her leaned down and pressed a kiss to her inner thigh, at the exact spot where her femoral artery was located, keeping his eyes on hers.

She had no idea if it was meant as a warning or a promise but it set every nerve in her body on fire and she had to swallow thickly, preparing to tell him again that she didn't want him to bite her.

Her words died a quick death in her throat though when he suddenly spread her legs even wider and licked over her most private part in one broad swipe.

With a dull thud, her head fell back against the hood of the car, her back arching as she tried to muffle the sounds she was making with her own hands. She almost bit her tongue off, when he sucked on her swollen nob, grazing it with his teeth and her other hand automatically reached down into his hair, gripping it tightly.

Bill held her down with one hand splayed out across her lower belly as she writhed beneath him while the other traveled between her legs, probing at her entrance.

Her whole body tensed, when he slipped one of his fingers inside her, going as deep as he could with one move. It burned like hell and she whimpered, feeling Bill hesitate until he heard her speak up.

“More, please, I need more...”

As if he had just been waiting for her to beg he started to move again, shoving a second finger inside her before she was physically ready and she screamed in pain, the sound echoing off the trees around her.

“Please don't stop,” she begged Bill before he could hesitate again, the pain making her come alive in a way she could never have imagined, fueling her arousal to a point she started getting dizzy.

“There is no stopping this now,” Bill growled out as he roughly started pumping his fingers inside her, continuing to lick and suck at her nub as if he wanted to eat her alive.

Though it still burned, he began to move more easily inside her, aided by the copious amounts of fluids that dripped out of her and just when she was rapidly approaching her peak, he pulled his fingers out.

“What the fuck!” she yelled out in frustration, before she let out a startled yelp when he roughly flipped her over, pressing his whole body against hers.

“Your only coming with me inside you, love,” he hissed in her ear and she heard his belt clink when he opened his pants.

Arching her back, she pressed herself against him, moaning in response and he chuckled darkly, kneading her ass with his hands, his hard member poking against her backside.

“Prepare to get fucked like the little whore you secretly are, because there will be no mercy,” he warned her with a growl as he lined himself up with her entrance and pushed inside her to the hilt in one move.

The pain was so intense that she couldn't even make a sound, her vision turning white for a moment as her mouth was hanging open in a silent scream.

Just like he said, he showed no mercy, starting to pound into her without giving her time to adjust, one of his hands on her hip to keep her in place, while the other fisted into her hair, lifting her upper body from the car. It felt like she was being ripped apart and something warm trickled down her legs, most likely blood.

Despite this all, she only felt pleasure, garbling out nonsense, her eyes rolling back into her head as she let Bill fuck her with abandon.

The pain started to lessen somewhat, making her more aware of the feeling of him sliding in and out of her, every ridge and vein on his member noticeable against her tight walls.

Another orgasm was beginning to approach and if sensing it, he let go of her hair and wound his fingers around her throat again, lifting her up so her back was pressed against his chest. It reminded her of the first dream she had about him after she had drunken his blood and she clenched around him, making him growl into her ear.

His pace picked up and she mewled, her hips instinctively trying to move with him, but she was unable to do so, feeling like a pinned butterfly.

When her walls started fluttering and her legs began twitching, he slowed down again and she whimpered in protest, his grip around her throat tightening for a moment as if in warning, before easing up again.

She was panting heavily, sweat glistening all over her body, making her shimmer in the dark and she tried to beg him to just let her come, she really did, but she was unable to form any words.

Brutally snapping his hips forward once, he slowly pulled back again, before doing it again and again and again, his grip on her hip bruising. It felt so unbelievable good, with every thrust the coil inside her belly tightened and she hummed deep in her throat, a continuous sound, the only one she felt able to make.

But just like the last three times, he stopped before she fell over the edge and tears of frustration started rolling down her cheeks, a pitiful sob escaping her lips.

“Please let me... come Bill, I beg you... I'll even let you... bite me if you just let me... finish,” she garbled out as best she could and she felt him slowly pull out of her, making her sob harder.

He let go of her throat and turned her around, wiping away her tears as he gently laid her on her back again, pressing a soft kiss to her lips before licking into her mouth.

Slipping back inside of her, he moved slowly now while he kept kissing her and her legs wrapped themselves around his hips as she moaned into his mouth. Even though the pace was gentle, she was so overstimulated that it felt almost too much, a very different sort of pain which was delicious nonetheless.

Her hands ran down his chest and she fleetingly wondered when he had taken his shirt off, before the thought disappeared into the ether when he circled his hips, hitting a spot inside her that made her see stars for a second.

He did it again and she had to break the kiss to get some air into her lungs, feeling like she was suffocating from all the sensations running through her. Using the opportunity, her started nibbling on her neck and she clenched around him when she heard his fangs pop out though this time she didn't tell him off.

Cradling her head with one hand, the other went down and between their bodies and he started rubbing her clit again, while he kept up his punishingly slow pace, occasionally twisting his hips. She gripped onto his shoulders, tightening her legs around him when she felt her peak approaching once again, afraid that he would stop like the last times.

But he didn't seem to want to do that, slightly increasing his pace and with a scream of his name she finally tumbled over the edge as he simultaneously sunk his teeth into her neck. Her body went taut like a bowstring, her vision whitening out as she felt like she was coming apart at the seams, the waves of pleasure crashing through her, completely overwhelming her.

She could feel him pull the blood out of her vein in time with her convulsions around him, his hips jerking against her before he stilled and she felt him coating her insides with his own juices. It seemed to go on forever until her body suddenly went limp like a wet noddle and Bill pulled out his fangs, licking the excess blood of her skin, before he let himself slip out of her.

She was too blissed out to even protest against the feeling of him breaking their intimate connection and dopily smiled with closed eyes, her brain overflowing with endorphins.

“As much as I don't want to ruin the mood, we have to get back before the sun comes up,” she heard Bill say apologetically and she blinked her eyes open, seeing him smiling down at her, fondness in his eyes.

For some reason that sobered her up immediately and she began to lift herself off the hood when he did it for her, placing her on her feet but holding on to her upper arms. Which was a good thing, because she didn't really feel her legs anymore and when she looked down, a curse slipped past her lips when she saw the amount of blood on them.

“Shit... I look like someone murdered my lady parts,” she muttered out and Bill chuckled, making her look up at him with a frown.

“That isn't funny mister, if somebody sees me like this...” He interrupted her with a quick kiss, before he led her back around the car and helped her into her seat, even going as far as to buckle her up. It was starting to make her uncomfortable how nice he was to her and she already began regretting giving in to her attraction, as mind blowing as her first time had been.

“I'll make sure no one sees,” Bill assured her as he started the car and she startled a bit, having been too lost in her own doubts to even notice him get in as well.

She didn't respond, opting to look out of the window instead, now that she wasn't in post-coital heaven anymore, she felt how her body ached, wincing every time the car drove over something bumpy.

Without looking at her, Bill bit down on his wrist and held it out to her, “Drink.”

It wasn't a request, but she hesitated, glancing at him before they hit another bump in the road and she let out a pained groan, wordlessly taking his offered blood. The pain immediately left her body when she swallowed the cold liquid down and she released his wrist again, licking her lips before she glanced at him.

“What happens if we keep doing this? Exchanging blood I mean?” She saw his reluctance to answer, which turned her stomach into knots because she had the feeling she wouldn't like his answer very much.

“We would become bonded. You would be able to feel my emotions just as I feel yours.” Phoebe could tell that there was more to it, but what he just told her was already enough and she silently brooded for the rest of the drive.

When they reached her house, they stayed silent for a few moment, before Phoebe turned to look at him, trying to keep her expression neutral.

“I can't keep doin' this. My mind is all messed up and if I keep hangin' around you, who knows what will happen,” she said quietly and Bill didn't even try to hide the anger on his face as he glared at her.

“You cannot be frightened of everythin' you don't know in this world, Phoebe. Do you really think that I'm just goin' to leave you be after what we just did?” It was her turn to glare now, as she unbuckled her seat-belt and leaned over the middle console, getting in his face.

“I can do whatever the hell I damn well please, Mr. Compton. If I decide to never see you again, then that's what I'm gonna do,” she hissed at him and his hand shot out, wrapping around her throat, her pupils widening as a sudden rush of arousal flowed through her.

“Go on then, keep lyin' to yourself if you must. But I expect you to beg for it when you come crawlin' back to me,” Bill sneered at her, before he pushed her away from him, her back painfully colliding with the door, tears gathering in her eyes.

Without another word, she got out of the car and slammed the door behind her, not even looking after him when he sped off in a cloud of dust.

Angrily wiping off her tears, she stomped up to the house, nearly ripping the door open until she remembered her Gran. So instead of continuing to stomp like an enraged bull, she quietly made her way inside and up to her room, going directly into the bathroom.

Getting out of her dress, she stepped into the shower, not even caring that the water hadn't heated up. Supporting herself with one arm against the wall, she closed her eyes and lifted her face up, letting the spray rain down on her.

A sob escaped her, followed closely by another and then another and she sunk down onto the shower floor, pulling her knees up to her chest as she started crying.

Everything that had happened came crashing down on her at once and she finally shed the tears she hadn't been able to produce when she had found Dawn.

She cried for her dead friend, she cried for her lost innocence and she cried for herself, because Bill had been right, she was lying to herself. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, she was attracted to that damn dark-haired vampire living next door and it scared her, it scared her so much because she was still unsure about him and felt like all of this was some kind of trap she wouldn't be able to come out of once she fell inside.

But most of all, she was scared of herself because she felt her control slipping when she was around him, as if his mere presence unlocked some dark part inside of her.

She had felt the same when around Eric, the power and authority that he exuded and especially the sharp tang of danger, spoke to that same part of her. It was confusing to say the least and with everything else going on, she felt that it was all too much and that she would break apart if anything else was added.

That was why she had to distance herself from Bill and she sure as hell wasn't going back to that vampire bar either, that was for sure.

When her tears finally subsided, she quickly but thoroughly cleaned herself and got out of the shower, drying herself off. She put on her sleep wear and slipped under the covers of her bed, exhaustedly noting that the sun was beginning to come up, before she fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Despite only getting four hours sleep at max, Phoebe felt great when she woke up again, at least physically that is, her mental state was a whole other ballgame entirely.

Looking at herself in the bathroom mirror, she tried to decide if she looked different somehow, her eyes wandering to her neck. She was more than glad, that after drinking Bill's blood again, the bite mark had healed as well, because she didn't want anyone to know that she did exactly what she swore she wouldn't.

Though in her defense, Bill had practically tricked her into allowing him to drink from her, she was well aware of that fact and though she was mad at him for it, she was even more angry at herself for even letting it get to that point.

For a moment she wished she had never intervened when that pair of white trash assholes tried to drain Bill, but then she felt bad because even if she had her problems with him, he still wouldn't deserve that.

Having had enough of her own depressing thoughts, she got out of her room and went downstairs, smelling breakfast in the air.

Her Gran was standing at the stove, on the phone with someone and she seemed a bit flustered as Phoebe glanced over at her while she poured herself some orange juice.

“Who was that?” she asked when her Gran ended the call and she could tell that her grandmother didn't want to tell her, her answer evasive before she switched topics.

“Everyone is excited about meetin' the town vampire tonight. I didn't hear ya come in last night.” There was something in her Gran's tone, that made her ears prick and she suspiciously glared at her grandmother's back.

“You were already in bed. Why do I get the feeling you're tryin' to fish for information?” Phoebe asked innocently, but there was a hint of amusement in her voice, which her Gran clearly caught on to.

“Well..., he really seems like a very nice man,” Gran replied and Phoebe couldn't stop the scoff that escaped her, “He's neither nice, nor is he a man.”

Sitting down next to her, her grandmother looked surprised, the phone still in her hand, “Oh, goodness did you two have a fight?” Thinking back to last night, or this morning more precisely, Phoebe tried not to grimace, shrugging her shoulders.

“Kind of. I think he has a bad influence on me and I broke things off,” she admitted and her Gran regarded her thoughtfully.

“Well, I know that, if I had a chance to know somebody who'd experienced the world differently, I'd see it as a blessing and not somethin' to be scared of. Or hate.”

Blinking at her grandmother, Phoebe exasperatedly shook her head, smiling at the older woman, “I don't hate him. I just think it would be better if we went our separate ways.”

Her grandmother looked like she wanted to say something else, but the phone started ringing again and they both stared at each other for a moment, before Phoebe pointedly looked at the phone.

“Maybe you should get that?” she suggested lightly, but her Gran looked less than happy with that prospect.

“The machine'll pick it up.” Raising her eyebrows at that, Phoebe started to smirk, forking up some scrambled eggs.

“They're houndin' you because of the meeting tonight, aren't they?” Her Gran let out a sigh, shaking her head with a sad smile, “Some folks round here just have a lot of prejudice for anyone who's different then them. I just hope that when people come tonight, they will see that Mr. Compton isn't much different from all of them.”

Not wanting to burst her grandmothers bubble, Phoebe swallowed down her bite of eggs and gently patted the old woman's arm.

“I'm sure they'll come around,” she tried to assure her Gran but then the phone started ringing again and they both looked at each other, before they burst out laughing.

* * *

Her mood had drastically improved by the time she started her shift at Merlotte's, all the thoughts about Bill were pushed into the deepest recesses of her mind for the time being.

She was standing at the bar, pouring ketchup from one bottle into another, while Arlene was behind the bar making a bloody Mary, when a dollop of ketchup landed on Phoebe's hand and she cursed.

“That vampire Bill would get a rise out of that,” the redhead snarkily commented and Phoebe shot her a blank look, not bothering to reply.

“Vamp club not all it was made out to be, huh? A lot of freaks, I hear. And people from Arkansas,” Arlene went on to prod and Phoebe slammed the bottle of ketchup down on the counter, making the redhead startle.

“Fucking hell, can't you people just mind your own goddamn business for once?” she yelled out, making people look over at them and she pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaling slowly, before she looked at Arlene again.

“I'm sorry for yelling at ya. To answer your question, the club was alright, the evening uneventful and I told Bill I didn't want to hang out with him anymore.” Phoebe's voice was monotonous, her expression blank but Arlene just seemed relieved, exchanging a look with Sam.

“Better to get away now than before you end up hurt, or dead,” the red-haired waitress pointedly told the younger woman before she wished her a good night and strutted off.

Shaking her head, Phoebe picked the ketchup up again, continuing with her task until Sam approached her, pretending to wipe down the bar.

“I hope that doesn't mean you're going to miss the Descendants of the Glorious Dead tonight,” he said casually and Phoebe inwardly groaned, already guessing what was coming next, but she kept her attention on the ketchup.

“You know damn well that I can't skip it with Gran being all excited about it.” Leaning against the bar, he looked at her, still trying to act casually and Phoebe had a real hard time to not roll her eyes.

“Good, 'cause...I was gonna ask if you wanna go with me.” Putting the ketchup down, she looked at him, ready to decline because she didn't want to give him any false hope.

“Sam, we talked about this remember? I'm not gonna string you along just to make you feel better and...” she trailed off at the dejected look in his eyes and she felt a pang in her chest, so she let out a sigh, shaking her head.

“You know what, fine! You can even take me for a coffee afterward, but don't get handsy with me Merlotte or I'll kick your ass into last week.” Threateningly pointing her finger at him, she had to return his beaming smile because it was infectious, though she felt a niggling of doubt over agreeing to go with him.

“What are y'all looking at? Get back to your food people!” Sam bellowed out good-naturedly and Phoebe saw that everyone at the bar was staring at them, making her roll her eyes at them in return.

Getting back to work, she had finally finished with the ketchup and brought the now full bottle over to Andy Bellefleur and started walking away, when he piped up.

“Love is in the air, huh?” Rolling her eyes, she turned back around, putting a hand on her hip as she stared at him, making a noncommittal sound in her throat.

“Even that brother of yours. He gettin' serious with Tara?” He prodded and Phoebe furrowed her brows at him in confusion.

“Jason and Tara?” She asked incredulously and he seemed oddly pleased at that.

“Oh, I thought you knew,” he replied smugly and she peeked into his mind to see what was going on.

_'There you go, right there. I knew it. Tara ain't bangin' Stackhouse. Bitch lied to me.'_

She nearly punched him in his stupid face for insulting her best friend like that, before she caught herself.

“You better watch your filthy mouth Andy Bellefleur and yes I can hear what you're thinkin' though I have to say, not much going on there, not that I'm surprised. Next time you want to ask me something, just come right out and say it to my face and stop dragging my brother down with you, he didn't do anythin'!” Gasping like a fish out of water, he clearly had no idea what to say to that, so Phoebe rolled her eyes again and stormed off to the kitchen.

“Tara here yet?” she called out to Sam and he pointed at the ladies room so she stormed over and flung open the door, seeing her best friend standing in front of the mirror and doing her hair.

“Why didn't you tell me you were goin' out with Sam?” Tara asked her before she could even open her mouth and it took Phoebe aback for a moment, before she slammed the door behind her and glared at her friend.

“Nu-uh, we're not gonna play that game now. Why in the hell would you be so dumb as to give Jason a false alibi? You know they can lock you up for that, right?” Phoebe whisper-yelled at her and Tara looked evasive, trying to not keep eye-contact for too long.

“Because I know he's innocent and so do you. And we both know the more time he spends with the police the more he's gonna talk himself into trouble.” Narrowing her eyes at Tara, she had a feeling there was something else that her friend wasn't telling her, but all she could hear in her friends head was Tara singing.

“The fuck are you doing?” Phoebe asked irritably and Tara glared at her, straightening her shoulders.

“Not every detail of everyone's personal life is your business, OK?” Brushing past her, Tara stormed out of the bathroom, Phoebe looking after her incredulously, hearing her yell at Sam to keep Phoebe away from her.

“Unbelievable,” the dark-haired woman muttered under her breath and ignored the curious look Sam was giving her to go back to work.

For the rest of her shift, Tara and her didn't speak to each other unless absolutely necessary but the more time passed, the less unfriendly their tone got. They could never stay mad at each other for long and this time was no exception, as Phoebe said her goodbyes, the girls even smiled at each other.

* * *

Sam was going to pick her up later for the meeting and when she arrived home she had the house all to her self, her Gran already at church to prepare everything.

Taking a quick shower, she donned on a pale yellow sundress and a pair of white flat sandals, braiding her hair so it fell in a long plait down her back.

Looking at herself in the mirror she put a hairband atop her head in the same yellow as her dress and grimaced at how innocent she looked. It made her feel like a liar, pretending to look like something she wasn't, but she pushed the thought away again.

Just as promised, Sam picked her up in his truck and he complimented her outfit, which made her feel even worse, though she thanked him with a smile.

They made small talk about this and that but Phoebe was starting to get fidgety until she couldn't contain herself anymore.

“This is just a test to see how it goes, OK? I don't want you to get your hopes up in case this all goes horribly wrong, you're my friend and I don't want to hurt ya.”

Sam looked at her taken aback, before he let out a small chuckle, shaking his head, “Relax, Phoebs. I ain't asking ya to marry me, it's just a date. How about we just see where it goes like you said?” Throwing her a wink, he concentrated on the road again and Phoebe felt herself relax, a hesitant smile gracing her lips.

She was surprised, how many people actually came to the meeting, but she guessed it had a lot to do with the scheduled guest for the evening.

“Looks like a full house tonight, Gran” she joked as she pulled her grandmother into a hug.

“Isn't it excitin'?” her Gran replied with a beaming smile and her eyes widened in surprise, when they fell on Sam.

“Well, Sam Merlotte, what a nice surprise,” she greeted him and he smiled almost bashfully.

“When Phoebe told me she was comin' here alone tonight, I thought it would be a shame if she came without an escort.” Phoebe's grandmother looked between them as she said,”How very gentlemanly of you,” and Sam laughed.

“OK, and that's enough of that. We're goin' to sit down Gran, talk to you later!” Phoebe called out as she grabbed Sam's arm and dragged him away, walking over to a row of seats, where she saw Tara sitting.

“Hey girl, can we join you?” Tara looked over at them, smiling nervously as she agreed and when Sam sat down next to the dark-skinned woman, Phoebe heard her mutter something about white people and she snorted.

The more people arrived the hotter it got and Phoebe soon saw everyone desperately fanning themselves trying to alleviate the heat though she herself wasn't sweaty. She was feeling anxious because she was about to see Bill again after last night and she sat rigidly in her chair, trying to look more relaxed than she felt.

Her brother arrived, sitting down next to Tara and she eyed him speculatively, noting that he looked a bit out of it.

“Hey, sit back. It's OK. Relax,” Sam whispered at her and she shot him a somewhat guilty smile, leaning back in her chair as she tried to actually relax, though it was all for naught, when her Gran came to the front.

“Welcome. It certainly is a pleasure to see so many new faces here this month. But Mayor Norris assures me that there will be enough ambrosia and tipsy cake for everyone,” she paused to wait out the polite laughter and Phoebe felt a cold sweat break out across her back.

“Now, our guest tonight is a gentleman who, despite what you might have heard, is one of us. His family was among the first to settle in Bon Temps and he bravely fought for Louisiana in the war for Southern independence. Let us welcome one of the original sons of Bon Temps back to the town that he helped build. I give you First Lieutenant William Thomas Compton.”

The door at the back of the nave opened and out came Bill in a light gray suit and light blue shirt and Phoebe weakly clapped along with everyone else, her hands starting to shake. As soon as people stopped clapping, she pushed her hands under her legs, basically sitting on them as her eyes stayed riveted to the front.

Her blood rushed so loudly in her ears, that she couldn't hear him speak, but she saw his lips moving and watched him as he removed the flag from the cross and attached it back to the flagpole.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, she managed to get her heart rate back to somewhat normal, the rushing in her ears dimming enough for her to be able to actually hear Bill talking.

“I am honored to stand before you tonight. Vampires have traditionally been very private, perhaps to our detriment. But I believe, if we reach out to one another, that we can coexist...” that's when his eyes met hers and she was pretty sure her heart stopped beating for a moment. “...and even thrive together.” She had to look away from him then, the heat in his gaze too much for her to handle right now.

Throughout the day she had fooled herself into believing that she was over this whole thing and that it wouldn't be so bad to see Bill tonight, but she had never been more wrong in her life.

Just like every other time she actually laid eyes on him, it was that much harder to ignore how much she wanted him and after the way he had deflowered her last night, it was even worse. Because now she knew the pleasure he could bring her and she remembered how he had told her she would never find a human man she could be herself with, which seemed to be the bitter truth.

Glancing at Sam, she felt guilty again for agreeing to go out with him, if he knew what she really was, he would probably run away screaming.

She heard sniggering coming from the row behind her and looked over her shoulder to see Wayne, Chuck and Royce sitting there, Wayne taking out a garlic press from inside his jacket.

Rolling her eyes at them, she turned back around until she heard all three of them laugh again, so she turned in her seat.

“Keep it down you,” she hissed at them, while Bill continued to talk and she felt the vampires gaze on her for a moment, a shiver running down her spine.

The three men in the row behind her glared at her and she flipped them off, not even caring she was in a church, before she turned her attention back to the front.

One of the members of the club spoke up then, asking Bill if he knew a man by the name of Tolliver Humphries who had been serving in the same unit as Bill and the vampire confirmed that he did.

He recounted the story of Tolliver's death after Maxine Fortenberry asked what happened and a lot of people had tears in their eyes after he finished. Mayor Norris raised his hand and came up to the pulpit, leaning heavily on his cane.

“I've been digging in the archives this week... and I found this old tintype. The inscription on the back says, 'Mr. W.T. Compton and family'. Can you tell us if this is a picture of you?” the mayor said whilst holding the tintype out to Bill and the vampire seemed hesitant to take it at first.

Opening in up he looked at the photograph inside and Phoebe could see a wave of emotions washing over his face before he spoke again, his voice wavering slightly.

“This... this is a remarkable photograph. I remember the day we gathered to have this taken.” He smiled up at the audience before he looked back to the picture in his hands, but then Maxine Fortenberry piped up.

“When was the last time you were with them?” Phoebe looked intently at his face, as he answered, fascinated by this display of humanity.

“When I...I went to war in 1862. I...my human life ended before I had a chance to come back home,” he said faltering over his words and Rene asked him why Bill didn't go back to his family after getting turned.

“No. No. That wouldn't have been possible.” He closed the picture frame and took out a handkerchief dabbing at his eyes while everyone watched him quietly.

“I apologize. This is not a subject I'm very comfortable speaking about. But thank you for the photograph, Mayor. Brings back many memories for me.”

Phoebe was surprised when she noticed the tears in her eyes and she blinked them away again, afraid that Bill might see them until she remembered, that he could feel her emotions regardless.

It was time for the Q&A part of the meeting now, but Phoebe blocked out everything around her, still trying to wrap her head around this side of Bill she had just witnessed.

She was surprised how hard it had hit him to see a photograph of his family again, he had been apart from them for so long that she figured he would barely remember them anymore. But that was obviously not the case and it seemed like he had loved them so much that it still brought him to tears to talk about them. Though she didn't want it too, it warmed her heart because it meant there was at least some humanity left in him, something good that had survived his turn into a vampire.

Of course her mind immediately wondered if she should see this as a sign for herself as well, but she squashed that thought almost instantly before it could take hold in her brain. She couldn't start seeing Bill again, that decision had already been made and she wasn't going to entertain the idea now just because he cried a few tears.

When it was time to mingle, she just wanted to leave but Sam caught her before she could get outside, frowning down at her.

“Aren't you going to say goodbye to your Gran?” he asked her and she felt a stab of guilt, having completely forgotten about her grandmother.

“Crap, your totally right, be right back,” she chirped out and walked back, her steps faltering when she saw her Gran standing next to Bill, but she put on a fake smile and walked up to them with a confidence she didn't feel.

“Folks seem to have liked your speech,” she politely directed at Bill as Sam walked up behind her and her grandmother gushed over how marvelous Bill had been.

“Yeah, that was...that was quite a show,” Sam commented clearly sarcastically and Phoebe let out a sigh, introducing them to each other.

“Bill, Sam. Sam, Bill. I'm sure you remember each other,” she said sourly and the two males glanced at each other with thinly veiled hostility.

“Yes, you're Phoebe's employer.” Sam was obviously not taking that comment too well, simply saying

“Not when we're off-duty”, and even going as far as to place his arm around her shoulder. Before they kept going, Phoebe pushed Sam's arm away and addressed them both.

“Would you stop it with your pissin' contest already. I'm not a toy you can fight over and if neither of you can act decently enough to not treat me as such, you can both fuck off,” Phoebe said firmly, cringing when her grandmother reprimanded her for her language, though her eyes twinkled with pride and amusement while Bill and Sam were staring at her, the vampire the first on to recover.

“I apologize. You are right of course, you should be treated like the lady you are and nothing less.” Her body went rigid and she felt a blush rise up her neck, because she understood the hidden meaning in his words, reminding her of how she very much wasn't a lady of any kind. Gritting her teeth, she gave him a tight lipped smile, before she turned to her grandmother and gave her a hug.

“Good night, Gran. I'll see ya later,” she whispered before she went off, Sam following behind her but he soon caught up to her.

“You know I'm sorry as well, right?” he asked her with a nervous glance and she rolled her eyes at him, playfully nudging him with her elbow.

“I know, Sammy-Boy. All is forgiven if you buy me a piece of apple pie to go along with the coffee,” Phoebe winked at him and his shoulders sagged in relief.

“I'll buy you all the pies they have if that's what it takes,” he flirted back at her and she felt herself blush, bursting out into giggles.

“Sam Merlotte! Who knew you could be such a sweet-talker!” She exclaimed in mock surprise, putting a hand over her heart as she walked backwards in front of him and he grinned back at her.

“There are a lot of thing you don't know about me,” was his teasing reply and she smirked at him, pointing at her head.

“You sure about that?” His smile faltered slightly before he caught himself, but she felt like she had ruined the playful mood with her comment, so she came back to his side and linked her arm with his.

“I'm just jokin'. You know I don't go poking around in peoples brains, especially not my friends,” she tried to assure him and she could him feel relax again, so she kept blabbering on about stupid things until they reached the restaurant.

They sat down at a table, both ordering a coffee and also a piece of apple pie for her, making small talk while she practically devoured her pie. She had offered to share, but Sam had politely declined so she didn't ask again, shoving the last piece into her mouth before she leaned back in her chair.

“You know, this is actually more fun than I thought it'd be,” she admitted and Sam's face brightened at her words.

“I'm honestly surprised you even agreed to this.” Looking down at the table, she fiddled with the handle of her cup, not meeting his eyes.

“I did want to decline at first, because I know how you feel about me and I like you too much to string you along like that. But then I thought to myself, why not just give it a try, you know.” She looked back up at him and he was smiling gently at her, reaching across the table to cover her hand with his.

“And that's all I'm asking for. I'm just glad you're doin' this and if you feel like there's nothing here after this, then at least we both know.” He squeezed her hand and she smiled at him, but there weren't any butterflies in her belly. She liked him well enough, he was one of her closest friends after all, but she doubted it would ever go further than that, despite her enjoying his company.

Sam payed for the coffee and pie and they went outside again, him holding the door open like a true gentleman, which made her smirk at him.

“I, for one, am thankful you don't go poking in my head,” he suddenly said and she turned around, raising her brows at him.

“And why's that?” Phoebe asked him teasingly and he walked closer to her, putting his hands on her arms.

“'Cause then you'd know what's comin'.” Walking her quickly backwards, her back met something hard before his lips were on hers, his hand cupping the back of her head as he hungrily kissed her. For a moment she reciprocated the kiss before she put her hands on his chest and gently pushed him away, shaking her head.

“You OK? Are we goin' too fast?” Sam asked her, his hand still at the back of her head and she wished he would step away from her to give her some space.

“No, it's just... I don't think I'm ready?” she replied lamely and he stared at her for a moment, before something seemed to dawn on him and he finally let go of her, taking a step back.

“Oh, god dammit, Phoebe! This is about him isn't it? I saw the way you were looking at him, you know. I thought you weren't interested in him that way?” He was agitatedly running a hand through his hair, glaring at her and she bristled.

“This has nothing to do with whether I'm interested in Bill or not,” she hissed out and he huffed out a humorless laugh.

“Oh, but hasn't it? Are you really goin' to tell me that there is nothing going on between you and that vampire?” Phoebe's eyes flickered guiltily to the side for a second before she could stop herself and she felt herself blush again, inwardly cursing for giving herself away that easily.

“What the fuck, Phoebe? Do you want to end up like Dawn or Maudette?” Sam yelled at her and she straightened her shoulders, glaring at him.

“Don't you yell at me Sam Merlotte! And Bill certainly didn't kill them.” He got up in her face then, pushing her against the car as he screamed at her.

“Listen, there's nothing that I will not do to keep that thing from hurting you. They're not like us. They could turn on you!” Sam was breathing heavily and Phoebe stared at him silently for a few seconds.

“You mean like you just did?” she said quietly and Sam visibly calmed down, running a hand over his face.

“All right, I think I best take you home.” He stepped away from her to open the door to his jeep, but she stomped back towards the restaurant, having no intention to get into his car.

“I'm taking a cab. Good night, Sam,” she called out over her shoulder without looking back and she could hear him yelling after her as she stepped inside, the door closing behind her.

This had turned into a disaster and despite being angry at Sam, she knew it wasn't entirely his fault. He didn't need to yell at her like he did, but he did have a point and that was exactly why she was going to stay away from Bill, just like she had decided before.


	9. Chapter 9

Phoebe was thankful that the cab driver wasn't trying to make small talk with her and she made sure to give him a nice tip as a show of gratitude when they arrived back home. Walking briskly up to the house, all she wanted was to get into her pajamas, fall into bed and just let this day be over.

Slipping out of her shoes in the mudroom, she pushed the door open and went inside, putting her shoes away and almost slipping on something wet when she stepped into the kitchen.

Holding on to the door frame, she scrambled for the light switch and flipped it, though when the inside of the kitchen became visible, she really wished she hadn't.

Her lungs restricted, her eyes wide and unblinking as she stared at the body of her grandmother wearing her nightgown, lying in a pool of blood on the floor.

“No, no, no, no, no,” she whispered desperately, falling to her knees on the bloody floor when her legs buckled and her hands landed in her grandmother's blood.

Jerking them off the ground, she stared at her bloody palms, yelping when someone suddenly grabbed her shoulders and lifted her off the ground.

She started struggling, her mind trying to convince her that the killer was coming for her next, until she heard a familiar voice calling her name. Freezing, she stared at him not really seeing him, before her vision cleared and she whispered out his name.

He was asking her something, but she only saw his lips move and before she knew it, she was hugging him tightly, feeling like she was going to splinter apart if she didn't.

Bill hugged her back just as tightly but he seemed to hear something coming from the front door, because his head snapped up.

In a flash he was gone and she stared after him for a moment, before she followed, seeing him hold Sam up against the wall with a hand around the other males throat.

“Let him go,” Phoebe demanded shakily and Bill complied albeit reluctantly.

Sam noticed the blood on her legs, looking panicked between her and Bill, before he asked what happened. Looking down at her hands, Phoebe regarded the blood on them with detached curiosity, before she looked up at Sam.

“Gran was killed.” There was no emotion in her voice, her face blank and both males looked worriedly at her, Sam hurrying over to hug her against him.

“I'm so sorry, Phoebe,” he mumbled into her hair as he pressed a kiss atop her head, but she didn't hug him back, taking a step away from him.

“We need to call the police,” she said in the same emotionless tone but before she could do just that, Sam grabbed her shoulders and led her into the living room, pushing her down onto the couch.

“You just sit here and let us take care of everthin', alright?” Sam said softly and she blankly looked up at him before she nodded and looked straight ahead again, her mind completely empty as she stared at nothing.

She could hear Bill and Sam talking in hushed whispers, then Sam calling the Sheriff but after that everything went blurry.

When someone put a blanket over her shoulders, she noticed that the police were already there and she looked over at Sam who was gently smiling at her.

“Hey, why don't you go upstairs and lie down? They're gonna be in there a while,” he suggested but she just kept staring blankly at him, her brain picking up on what the cops were thinking, overwhelming her.

Neil was worried he was going to be sick because of the blood, Andy tried to pull himself together, wanting people to respect him and Mike was apparently examining her Gran's body making her learn things she didn't really want to know.

The Sheriff was thinking about his wife and grandkids but when she could hear Andy again, it was enough.

_'Poor woman, stuck raising these bad- crazy Stackhouse kids didn't deserve this.'_

Jumping up form the couch, she hurried past everyone and out onto the porch, sitting down on the steps. She could hear someone behind her and knew it was Sam, wishing he would just leave her alone but instead he sat down next to her, silent for a moment.

“Listen. I should never have left you alone, I lost my temper, and I shouldn't have...” he started to say, but Phoebe cut him off before he could go on.

“Not now Sam. I don't really give a fuck about what happened earlier right this minute.” He looked contrite for a moment, before he grabbed for her hand.

“I just... Whatever you need, anything I can do, you know, I'm right here.” Phoebe looked at him, nodding.

“I know, thank you,” she replied and jerked her hand away from him when his thoughts invaded her mind and she felt her temper boil over, though she tried to restrain herself.

“Any idea what happened to Bill?” she asked instead of yelling at him and she almost smiled when his face fell, feeling oddly pleased over having hurt his feelings.

“I'll go get him,” he grumbled out as he got up and she called a thanks after him, before she looked back into the dark again.

She still hadn't caught on to what had happened she felt like, as if her mind was trying to protect her, not allowing her to compute the situation. A constant loop of 'this isn't real', seemed to play in her head but underneath all that, anger bubbled just below the surface, hot and explosive just waiting for the perfect time to erupt.

Unfortunately, Sam decided to come back, resuming his place next to her but thankfully he didn't try talking to her again.

“I need to call Jason,” she said out of the blue as she remembered that her brother would want to know about this obviously and Sam offered to do it for her which she gladly agreed to.

Standing up, he pulled out his phone and walked down the steps, Phoebe watching him try to reach her brother, but it seemed like he wasn't picking up. Hearing footsteps coming from inside, she turned around to see Bill and he motioned for her to get up.

“What’s going on?” she asked him confused as she walked over to him. Bill put an arm around her shoulder as he led her to the side and explained that they were about to move her Gran.

Brushing his arm off, she turned around just as Sheriff Dearborne and Andy came outside as well, the latter suggesting to her that she should stay somewhere else for the night and she frowned at him.

“What would I do that for? This is my house and I ain't going to let some sick fuck scare me away,” Phoebe said decidedly and just then, Mike and Neil were carrying out the stretcher with the body bag on it and she inadvertently caught Neil's thoughts.

She almost let out a snort at his worry that she might recognize him from Fangtasia and she remembered wondering if it was him when she went there with Bill. Now she knew for certain, not that she really cared either way.

_'...dumb luck you're not in that bag right now, fuckin' that vampire. You could be next'_

Catching the Sheriff's thoughts, she looked over at him and to her face he said, “I'm truly sorry about your grandmother,” and she had to refrain herself from rolling her eyes at him, instead asking him if they were done because she wanted to clean up.

Apparently they were, because they left after telling her to call at the first sign of anything, while Andy ordered Sam to keep an eye on her, before they drove away.

“They are right. You should not stay here,” Bill said and Sam seemed to agree with him for once.

“I agree. You can have my trailer. I'll sleep at the bar.” She looked blankly between them, before she brushed past them and opened the door, glancing back at Bill.

“You should leave, it's almost dawn,” Phoebe said to Bill before she walked back inside, the door falling shut behind her.

She walked back into the kitchen and got a bowl and a rag, putting some soap and warm water into the bowl before she snapped on some latex gloves kneeling down on the floor to begin mopping up the blood.

There was so much of it and she felt the anger inside her bubble a little hotter at the sight, wanting to rip whoever did this apart for stealing the most important person from her life.

“Need some help?” Sam asked from behind her and without turning, she answered him, “There is an extra mop 'round back.”

* * *

It took hours to get all the blood off the floor, walls and furniture and by the time they were finished, the sun was shining brightly in the sky and she wordlessly went upstairs to take a shower. She still hadn't shed a tear the whole time and as she stared at the reddish swirls of water that went down the drain, she wondered if she was going to have another breakdown soon.

It kind of reminded her of the day she had found Dawn which was only two days ago now that she thought about it. So much had happened in such a short span of time and she could feel herself very close to breaking point, already dreading the throngs of people who would undoubtedly come over today to 'pay their respect' when in fact they only wanted to gawk at her and see where her Gran had died.

She put on a navy-blue sundress and braided her hair before she went downstairs to sit down at the dining room table not moving an inch, not even when the first people started to arrive.

It wasn't long before the throngs of people she had feared were populating her Gran's house, or her house as she supposed, bringing loads upon loads of food with them.

They soon figured out that they weren't getting any information out of her, she gave only monosyllabic answers, her smile strained and most of them left her alone after that.

But then Maxine Fortenberry came up to her and Phoebe inwardly sighed, as she listened to the older woman prattle on about Gran, whilst thinking that she should've come sooner to see the blood.

Jumping up from her seat, Phoebe excused herself, making a hasty retreat only to be intercepted by Arlene who pulled her into a hug, tears streaming down the redheads face.

“Oh...you poor thing. I can't imagine what you're goin' through. Now, if you need help with moving or anything at all...” Arlene trailed off and Phoebe shook her head much to Arlene's surprise.

“I ain't moving. Don't get me wrong, it's horrible what happened in this kitchen, but this is the house I grew up in, where I made most of my memories. I'm not going to give that up.”

Before Arlene could reply, Phoebe's head snapped around and she barked at Maxine who had the audacity to touch her Gran's pie.

“Put that pie down right now Maxine Fortenberry!” Storming over to her, she ripped the plate out of the elderly woman's hands, glaring at her.

“My Gran made that pie and it's not for you to stuff your face with,” Phoebe growled out and Maxine spluttered, people already looking at the two of them from the living room.

Hearing their nasty thoughts about her, calling her crazy and a killer, something inside her snapped and she put the plate with the cake down and clapped her hands.

“Listen up! I want you all to get the fuck outta my house right this minute!” They stared at her as if she had grown a second head and she stared back at them, cocking a brow.

“What you all looking at me for? Get, get!” She made shooing motions with her hands and finally people started leaving, grumbling and whispering to each other, Maxine glaring at her as she walked away, making Phoebe flip her off. Tara and Lafayette came over to her, both trying to hide their smiles.

“You tell 'em girl,” Lafayette said with a wink and put an arm over her shoulder, making her sink against him as Tara grabbed her hand.

Sam walked up to them, a question in his eyes and Phoebe shook her head at him, so he sighed and nodded at her, before he left as well.

“You got any of those nice pills that make me sleep like the dead?” Phoebe asked Lafayette as she looked up at him and he grinned, letting go of her to pull out a clear, plastic bag with a bunch of pills in it, “Ya really need to ask, baby girl?”

The three of them went upstairs, where she put the little, blue pill onto her nightstand, sitting down heavily on the bed with Tara and Lafayette.

“I can't believe she is really gone,” Phoebe said blankly as she shook her head, “It hasn't really sunken in yet you know. I feel like she is just gonna be there when I pass her bedroom or come into the kitchen. I haven't even cried, because everything is just numb.”

“That's probably a good thing right now,” Tara pointed out gently and Phoebe nodded thoughtfully.

“You're probably right.” Looking over at Lafayette, she asked him if he would mind checking if everyone actually left and he readily agreed, leaving the girls alone.

They laid down on the bed beside each other on their bellies and stayed quiet for a while, Phoebe just didn't want to be alone right now and Tara was her best friend.

“Do you want me to call anyone about the funeral? Your cousin Hadley?” Tara asked her and Phoebe snorted, shaking her head.

“I don't even know if she's still alive. Nobody's heard from her in over a year, since she ran away from rehab, which Gran payed for by the way,” she said bitterly.

“What about Bill? You wanna invite him?” Shooting her friend a look, she raised her brows and Tara seemed to catch on to the impossibility of it.

“Oh right, sunlight and all that,” Tara said with an eye roll and Phoebe snorted again.

“I wouldn't have invited him anyway, despite him being there for me last night. I think I should stay away from him for my own safety of mind.” Propping herself up on her elbows, Tara raised her brow at her looking skeptically.

“Not the first time you said that. I'd fucking lose it if anything happened to you. You know that, right?” Phoebe grabbed her friends hand and squeezed it tightly.

“Right back at ya, girlfriend.” They fell silent again until she heard someone stomping up the stairs and she moved off the bed, startling when the door slammed open and her brother stormed inside.

Just as she was greeting him, his palm connected with her face and the force of the blow made her fall back onto the bed.

Tara started screaming at Jason, but he didn't pay her any attention, pointing angrily at Phoebe who was looking at him with wide eyes, a hand pressed against her burning cheek.

“It's your fault! Gran is dead 'cause o' you. It should have been you!” Her brother screamed at her and tried to lunge at her again, only to be stopped by Tara who held him back, yelling at him not to touch Phoebe, but Jason wasn't done.

“She's fucking a vampire, Tara... a fucking vampire,” he screamed and Phoebe just stared at him, for the first time in her life scared of her own brother.

“Yeah, and that vampire was here for her when you weren't!” Tara stood herself in front of Jason, keeping him from getting to his sister as she started pushing him out of the room.

“You oughta be ashamed of yourself! Is that how your grandmother raised you? To beat on your own sister? Look at you! I don't even recognize you anymore! Get the hell out of here!”

Jason kept his furious glare on Phoebe, as Tara pushed him away more forcefully, slamming the door behind him once he was out of the room and then hurrying over to her friend.

“You okay?” Tara asked her worriedly, looking at the side of her face and Phoebe gingerly touched it, just staring at her friend, before she turned around and took the pill Lafayette had given her from her nightstand.

Swallowing it dry, she looked back at Tara, trying to smile at her, “No, I'm not okay. My life is a fucking mess right now. But at least I'm gonna be able to get some sleep.”

Giving her a side hug, Tara let out a small chuckle, before she pressed a kiss to her forehead and stood up.

“I'm goin' to help Lafayette downstairs. We'll be here when you wake up, OK?” Phoebe nodded at her, watching her leave the room as well and she stood up to get out of her dress and into something more comfortable, before she slipped into bed and closed her eyes.

At some point she dreamed about someone trying to strangle her, knowing like you know things in your dreams, that it was the killer, coming back to finish the job.

Thankfully though the dream didn't last too long before everything turned into nothingness again until someone shook her, yelling her name and she groggily opened her eyes. Bill was hovering above her, looking freaked out and she furrowed her brows at him.

“What're you doin' here?” she sleepily mumbled and he seemed to visibly relax again, saying something about a dream he had, but she felt herself drifting off again, barely able to keep her eyes open.

“Stay?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, nothing more than a quiet breath, but he heard her nonetheless.

“Don't worry. I'm not goin' anywhere. Go back to sleep.” Nodding dazedly, she let her eyes fall close, drifting off again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!
> 
> I know it has been a little while since I last updated and the next chapter might even be a longer while still. Due to some health issues, mainly the fact that I apparently have developed micro-cysts in both my wrists which have me in almost constant pain, writing is very uncomfortable at the moment. As you can maybe guess, it also doesn't help much in terms of motivation. Medication isn't doing much unfortunately and there is a good possibility that I need to have surgery at some point, yay me...
> 
> But enough about that now, I hope you enjoy this chapter and feel free to tell me what you think about it! Also, thank you very much to everyone who left kudos or a comment, it really makes my day to see people enjoy the crap I write!

The next morning she felt like shit when she came downstairs and Tara and Lafayette stared at her as she walked into the kitchen, making a beeline for the coffeemaker. Ignoring them, she poured herself a cup, grimacing as she took a sip and found out it was only lukewarm, turning around to them.

“What?” she asked, raising her brow and Tara and Lafayette glanced at each other, before Tara spoke up, acting nonchalantly.

“You remember Bill coming by?” Frowning at her friend, Phoebe was confused as to what she was talking about and it seemed enough of an answer to Tara.

“He stormed in here yesterday like a bat outta hell and into your room, scaring the crap outta us. When we came upstairs, he was shaking you, tryin' to wake you up, acting all panicked. You don't remember any of that?”

Phoebe's frown deepened as she searched her mind for any memory of this happening, but she came up empty, so she shrugged.

“No, not really. Did he say why he came?” She tried not to sound too curious but by the way Tara was looking at her, it wasn't very successful and the dark-skinned woman hesitated to answer, making Lafayette roll his eyes.

“Didn't say anythin' to us. But he was out on the lawn all night, staring at your window,” he said to Phoebe and she tried to ignore how her heart started racing.

“Huh, weird. Must be a vampire thing.” She brushed it off, quickly sipping at her coffee again to hide her face, forgetting that it tasted like shit and she grimaced again. Tara snorted, shaking her head at her as Lafayette grinned.

“Just promise to be careful, alright? I wasn't lyin' when I said I can't stand to lose you yesterday,” Tara sighed out and Lafayette nodded, “Amen to that.”

Phoebe blushed, awkwardly clearing her throat as she looked away, “No idea what ya talking about. I'm going back upstairs to change.”

Putting the cup down by the sink, she brushed past them, hurrying back upstairs as she heard Tara yelling after her.

“You're a shit liar, you know that?” Scoffing, Phoebe decided not to comment on that and went back into her room, taking a shower and getting dresses in a modest black dress. She pinned her hair up and put in the pearl earrings her Gran had gifted her when she had turned fifteen, staring at her reflection, before she walked back downstairs.

She had been the first one to arrive, taking a seat in the front row and staring at her grandmothers coffin, faintly wondering who had ordered the flowers and wreaths, because it hadn't been her.

Avoiding to look at any of the guests, she kept her eyes forward, only giving Lafayette and Tara a small smile when they sat down next to her.

Phoebe flinched, when her brother sat down on her other side without even looking in her direction, looking like shit, all sweaty and tired and she wondered again if he was on drugs.

One of the woman her Gran had went to church with stepped up to the podium, singing a rendition of 'Softly and Tenderly', her eyes closed.

Phoebe was sure it was beautiful, but she felt detached, as if she wasn't really present but merely a spectator to what was going on around her.

After the song, the pastor stepped up to the podium but his words faded into the background when she saw Neil Jones pushing an old man in a wheelchair up towards them. She grabbed Tara's hand, squeezing it hard and heard her friend complain, but her attention was solely focused on her uncle, the pit of anger in her stomach bubbling.

Neil pushed him next to Sam, slightly behind Jason and her brother turned around to pat their uncle on the knee, while Phoebe just stared blankly at the old man.

“Why are you here?” she asked him coldly.

“She was my sister.” His voice send shivers of revulsion down her spine and she let out a scoff.

“Oh, so suddenly family is important, is it?” Phoebe spat at him and Jason decided to pipe in, making her want to hit him.

“Phoebs, come on. Give the guy a break,” he said condescendingly and for a moment she saw only red, missing that the pastor had called her to the podium, until he called for her again and she stood up.

Walking up to the podium, she kept her expression blank, as she tried to keep it together for her speech.

“Adele Stackhouse was...everything to me. She wasn't just my grandmother. She was...my parent, my teacher, and my best friend.” She lost her train of thought, when everyone else's started to bombard her and she gripped the edges of the podium, trying to block them out.

The consensus among them was that she was the one responsible for her grandmothers death, that she should be the one to lie in that coffin instead and shouldn't have shown her face today.

“To say she'll be missed...just doesn't cut it, 'cause...I can't even imagine a world without her in it. She was always there, with a kind word, and a hot meal, and a shoulder to cry on. Not just for me, but... for everyone who knew her.” She trailed off again, everything coming to her at once, Uncle Bartlett feeling sorry for what he did, but mostly for himself, people thinking she was a crazy vampire whore and it was too much, it was all just too much.

“Just shut the fuck up y'all!” She yelled out, before she grabbed her purse and ran away, their thoughts still haunting her.

Her brother called after her, though she didn't stop not wanting to talk to him but he wouldn't give up so she whirled around.

“What the fuck do you want from me? Slap me again maybe? Or do you just want to tell me how all o' this is my fault and that I should be the one lyin' in that coffin?” She yelled at him and he looked at her, apologizing for his behavior before going in for a hug and Phoebe pushed him away.

“Don't you dare touch me!” The dark-haired woman hissed at him and his expression turned hurt.

“Well, I didn't mean to hurt you. You gotta know that.” Phoebe scoffed, shaking her head at her brother, “You invited Uncle Bartlett! How could you do that?”

“He has a right to be here! Look, I know he and Gran had their problems, but whatever they were, it don't matter no more. 'Cause that's what family does. We forgive each other,” her brother said pleadingly and she glared at him, getting even more angry.

“You have no idea what you're even talkin' about,” she snapped at him and he pleaded with her that they were all they got now and she disdainfully shook her head.

“Nothing is what we got.” With that she stormed off and he didn't come after her this time.

Walking through the older part of the cemetery, she tried to soak in the peace and quiet around her, to make the boiling anger inside her calm down again.

There were two gravestone embedded into the ground and the name caught her attention, so she knelled down and pushed the plants that obscured the top half away, staring at the gravestone. It was Bill's which was kind of weird because he was still walking around and a small smile tugged at her lips, but the impulse was gone as soon as it came and she stood up again.

Glancing at the stone plate one last time, she slowly made her way back to the funeral, hoping that everyone had left by now, which thankfully they had.

She stood silently, watching as the coffin was lowered into the ground, and now that her anger had abated, she was feeling detached again and it seemed unreal that her grandmother was inside that cherry-brown box.

Sam came up next to her but she didn't acknowledge him at first, until he greeted her and she replied in kind, her eyes not leaving the casket.

“I was lookin' for ya,” Sam said and she felt a pinch of irritation.

“Looks like you found me then,” Phoebe pressed out, still not looking at him.

“I liked your speech. What I heard of it, anyway.” Finally glancing at him with a blank expression on her face, she turned her attention back to the coffin.

“I especially liked the part when you told the whole town to shut the fuck up,” he continued in an attempt to lighten the mood, but there wasn't really a point in her opinion.

“Well, they should. They're all a bunch of assholes.” They fell silent, the casket halfway down before Sam decided to speak again, “I'll walk you home.”

Extending his arm towards her, she stared at it for a moment, looking back at the grave, before she linked her arm with his and let him lead her away.

Sam refrained from talking all the way back, coming up with her to the door and as she searched for her keys, he addressed her again.

“So, how 'bout you take a bath, and I find us some stupid movie on TV. Somethin' with aliens,” and then when she didn't reply he added, “Romantic comedy?” She shook her head, not able to smile at him even if she wanted to.

“No, I need to be alone,” she said and he nodded understandingly at her so she thanked him and went inside.

Walking into the kitchen, she stared at the spot where her grandmother had been lying in a pool of her own blood, everything spotless now and it made all of this seem even more unreal.

On an impulse, she strode over to the fridge, taking out her Gran's pie and a fork, setting both down on the table, before she took a seat.

Removing the saran wrap, she picked up the fork and put a pecan and a bit of pie on it, her hands starting to shake as she lifted the fork to her mouth. It hit her suddenly that it was the last time she would be able to eat this and at last she grasped that her grandmother wasn't coming back.

She tried to suppress her sobs as she kept eating, though it was hard to swallow through the lump in her throat. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, her chest so tight it was hard for her to breathe and she felt herself breaking apart, her heart splintering into a million little pieces, their sharp edges cutting her open from the inside.

She had to pause occasionally when her crying got worse, but by the time she had managed to finish all of the leftover pie, her tears had dried up.

Leaving the empty plate on the table, she walked upstairs and changed out of her dress into a pair of shorts and an over-sized shirt, letting her hair down. She stared at her reflection, wondering how she could be so pretty, when she was so very rotten on the inside.

It was her fault that her grandmother had been killed, everyone was right about that but no one blamed her as much as she did herself.

All this time she had been afraid of what she could turn into but now she realized, she already was a monster and probably had always been one just without noticing it.

If she hadn't been indulging in her own dark impulses, none of this would've happened, her Gran would still be alive and her life wouldn't be falling apart right in front of her eyes. But here she was now, having nothing left to lose, the only things she felt were pain and anger and they were slowly eating away at her, making her feel like she was going to lose it completely.

She was dancing precariously on the edge of her own sanity and it wouldn't need very much to finally push her over, not if things kept going this way.

The sun was starting to set, the sky painted in hues of red and purple and she inadvertently thought about Bill, hoping he wouldn't visit her tonight. She felt too fragile and vulnerable to deal with him and even though he had been by her side the night her grandmother was killed, she really didn't want to see him.

Her decision to keep away was still steadfast, she didn't want anyone else to die because of her association with a vampire and she could only hope that it would get her out of the killers cross-hairs when she stopped seeing Bill. Though maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she got killed, she kind of deserved it but she pushed that thought away again, not wanting to fall into a deeper pit than she was already in.

Deciding to go to bed, she slipped under the covers and tried falling asleep, but she only managed to toss and turn for hours, before her body finally succumbed to her exhaustion.


End file.
